The Oxymorons
by A.E. Seaflame
Summary: It is their seventh years at Hogwarts, and Scorpius and Rose hate each other with a burning passion. Prefect Scorpius is quiet, shy, isolated, an outcast. Gryffindor Quidditch Captain Rose is arrogant, outgoing, and simply reckless. Against all odds, these two polar opposites have become Head Boy and Head Girl. Can they handle the pressure, and each other? Rated T for language.
1. Intro

**Hey guys! This is a chapter fanfic featuring the ship Scorrose. It is called the Oxymorons, which you will see why. Here is a short into to what will be in the book: **

***Note: I'm not including the rest of the Weasleys except children of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ronald Weasley. I will, however, include Luna's children.**

-Rose-

Rose Weasley may be the daughter of Ron and Hermione Weasley, but her personality sure doesn't show it. If her last name wasn't Weasley, people wouldn't even know that she was the child of not one, but TWO of the Golden Trio. But, alas, she is the child of the two bright, brave witches and wizards that saved the world.

Unlike her mother, Rose was not a know-it-all. In fact, during the school year, she failed most of her classes but somehow managed to pull it all together at the end-of-year exams. Instead of working on a six-foot essay all night, she partied.

In other words, Rose Weasley was reckless.

Now, in her seventh year, James Potter was gone, and no one else could say something to stop her. James, despite the fact that he, too, was a troublemaker, always kept Rose in check. But now, Hugo and Lily in their fifth years have O.W.L.S and won't have time to be tattletales. Albus never cared what Rose did, and often joined her on her midnight adventures.

See, everyone expected so much of Rose, except the woman herself. She would rather join a secret organization and get rich off being a spy, not an Auror. Aurors, in her opinion, are so restricted.

Rose wasn't a know-it-all willing to risk her own life constantly. She was more of the arrogant whore that people admired and hated. To her family, she was the oxymoron. She was everything they never wanted.

-Scorpius-

Scorpius was the child that Hermione Granger always wanted. He was also the child Draco Malfoy never wanted.

He was so quiet, and always kept to himself. He constantly read, never spoke in class or frankly anywhere. Even in his own house, Slytherin, Scorpius was considered a loser. He may not be ambitious like the other Slytherins, but he was rather cunning. Only he never showed it.

The few friends Scorpius had weren't even his true friends. They were more like people paid to talk to Scorpius. They, too, bullied him in school, but around Scorpius's father, they were friendly.

Now, in his seventh year, Scorpius still had no friends. He was still alone.

He was still a shame to his father, who wanted him to be a Head in the Ministry. Draco's high role would give Scorpius everything.

But he didn't want that. He wanted to own a tiny, isolated shop selling books and trinkets. He wanted to be alone. Scorpius didn't realize that being alone wasn't the answer.

Scorpius had no arrogance of his father. To his family, he was the oxymoron. He was the opposite of everything they ever wanted.

**As you lovelies can see, there is a bit of connection here between Scorpius and Rose. So, this is the story. Tell me what you like and hate, and I'll take in all constructive criticism freely. This is short, but it's a preview. My chapters will be pretty short in the beginning, but they will gradually get longer. I promise. :)**


	2. Chapter 1: The Letters

**Hello again! Quick note: I have no idea how often I will update. I will update when I can, and if I haven't updated in a week, let me know. PM me and I will get that chapter released.**

* * *

Chapter 1: The Letters

-Rose-

* * *

August 19, 2023

I am absolutely dreading the letter from Hogwarts. What if I get Head Girl? I will absolutely die from embarrassment. The minute I see a Head Girl badge, I will faint. Goodbye, fun. Goodbye, parties.

Hugo, Albus, James, Teddy, Lysander, and Lorcan are all betting on who will get what badge. Even Lysander and Lorcan are betting, and they're only starting third year! Hugo and Albus are positive I'll get the Head Girl badge, and they are each betting twenty galleons with Teddy! Teddy is pretty darn rich, so it's okay for him to be a risky bettor. I hope he gets forty galleons, not Albus and Hugo.

I feel so sorry for Victoire. She and Teddy are doing their best to teach their three-year old Annalise how to potty-train. Annalise is an adorable girl, with the brightest silvery hair like Victoire's and currently, a pig nose. She cries all the time, and I hate babysitting her. She falls asleep on Hugo's old crib and pees on the entire bedsheet. It's nasty. That's the thing about babies. On the outside in public, they are the cutest angels. But when you have to take care of them, they are nasty little devils. Especially Annalise, who somehow knows how to say only curse words. I wouldn't be surprised if Albus was the one to teach it to her. I can imagine him standing at her crib, ranting to Annalise about a Quidditch game with swears and words only Albus could dare to say.

Oh, great, Mum is calling. I'm petrified. I think the letters came. Ugh, why can't Hogwarts letters be like -what's that Muggle term?- oh right, snail mail. Ah, mail that takes forever. What I would do for snail mail...

* * *

Rose drags her feet down the steps, trying to go as slow as possible.

"Hurry up, Rose! These strawberry tarts won't eat themselves!" Mum hollered.

At the words "strawberry tarts," Rose raced down the stairs, to the kitchen, where there were no strawberry tarts. Just a pile of letters.

"Mum!" Rose whined. "You tricked me!"

"Honey, I did it for your own good. Just face reality. It's not the end of the world if you don't get Head Girl."

Rose sighed. Mum was still under the impression that Rose wanted Head Girl. Honestly, Rose is not as hungry for responsibility as Hermione.

Dad walks in with a cup of iced Butterbeer. "Dad, why couldn't I just skip seventh year like you?" Rose asked.

"Well," Dad replied enthusiastically, "it's not too late, you can still-" He was silenced by Mum's deadly glare.  
He looked back to Rose. "I mean, seventh year isn't terrible, sweetie. Well, not that I know of, I mean, I think it is pretty good..." he trailed off into the distance.  
Hermione cleared her throat loudly and Ron, getting the message, backed away into the door and raced upstairs.

"As I was saying," Mum continued, "The longer you wait, the worse you will feel. I promise. Just get it over with."

Rose sighed. She searched through the letters, finding hers at the bottom. She sat down and ripped open the letter.

There was a small thud of metal as it hit the floor.

* * *

-Scorpius-

* * *

Scorpius awoke to the sound of feathers flapping and beaks pecking at each other. He groaned. It was so early in the morning, the sun had barely risen. Couldn't Vela go hunting later on?

Opening his eyes, he saw an unfamiliar brown tawny owl wrestle with his own midnight black owl streaked with indigo blue. The brown owl was holding a package in its beak. Was it from Hogwarts? No, no. Scorpius was not ready for a letter from Hogwarts.

"Hey!" He whispered, not wanting to wake anyone else in the house. "Just give it to her," he told the brown tawny owl who dropped a letter and flew out the window.

"What is it, Vela?" he whispered. Vela flew over to Scorpius. In her beak was a letter embellished with the Hogwarts seal.

* * *

August 18, 2023

Dear Journal,

I am seriously dreading the Hogwarts letter. I know I won't get Head Boy, and Dad is expecting so much of me. His disappointment hurts. Worst of all, at dinner tonight, that was all Aunt Daphne and Mum would talk about. Dad wasn't there for dinner because he had a meeting with Mr. Potter about some Auror work. I still find it strange that Dad and Mr. Potter are close friends.

All during dinner, Aunt Daphne kept asking for my opinion on her wedding. She hasn't even been proposed to yet, but she is positive her boyfriend Daniel will propose. I like Aunt Daphne, but she is absolutely annoying when she gets a boyfriend. She always thinks her latest boyfriend is "the one." Then, when he doesn't propose quickly enough, she breaks up with him. We've been planning her wedding for years, on and off. When Aunt Daphne isn't lovesick, she's pretty cool. She talks to me and gives me real, true advice. She's like that cool aunt everyone needs.

Sincerely,

Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy

* * *

-Rose-

* * *

Rose picked up the metal on the floor. It was a badge. And worst of all, it was a golden badge with the Gryffindor symbol emblazoned on it. In silver the words shone: Head Girl.

Mum took one glance at the badge and shrieked. She had enough excitement for the entire neighborhood. Rose just stood there, staring at the badge. She put it on the table and read her letters as Mum ran upstairs to call Dad.

* * *

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

HEADMISTRESS: Minerva McGonagall

Dear Ms. Rose Weasley and Family,

We are pleased to inform you that you are Head Girl! You have been chosen because of your hard-working, courageous, intelligent personality. Please find a list enclosed of the materials you will need for your seventh year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Term begins on September 1st. Please arrive to the Prefects' Carriage promptly in order to instruct new prefects. Your duties must be taken seriously.

Yours sincerely,

Filius Flitwick

Deputy Headmaster

* * *

"This is real," Rose whispered to herself in awe. She didn't know exactly how to feel.

At that moment, Hugo and Dad walk in. "Is it true?" Dad asked Rose. "Did my girl really get Head Girl?"

In reply, Rose silently handed her father the letter. Hugo hovered over Dad as he read.

"Someone owes me 20 galleons!" He yelled loudly, smirking. "Where's my letter?" He began to search roughly through the pile. "Geez, Dad, couldn't you just pay your bills already? The Ministry is spamming us with warnings."

Mum slapped Dad's head, as he mouthed the words of the letter. "Ron! Why on Earth haven't you paid the bills yet?"

Rose giggled. Mum and Dad had the most entertaining arguments ever.

Dad stuttered. "I-I had Auror bu-business to do, 'Mione."

"STILL!" She shrieked. As she advanced towards Ron, the doorbell rang.

"Come in!" Hugo called sweetly.

Lily, Albus, James, Uncle Harry, and Aunt Ginny burst through the door. Lily and Albus waved their letters in the air, grinning. Immediately, Hugo and Lily compared their letters to each other. Albus ran to Rose and grinned at the words "Head Girl."

"I'll treat you to dinner, Rose," he said, "with my twenty Galleons."

Rose laughed. "Thanks, Albus. Did you see your letter?"

Albus chuckled. "Guess who's Captain of the Quidditch Team?"

Rose almost shrieked. "Albus! Do you know what that means?"

"I know it means I get to kick your butt all year long," replied Albus, smirking.

Rose saw James sneaking a cookie from the jar and hollered, "JAMES! YOU WON'T BELIEVE IT!"

"I already believe it," he said through a mouthful of cookies.

"Albus Severus Potter: Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch Team! It's ridiculous! McGonagall KNOWS that we are cousins and she's still putting us against each other." Rose could already see the Daily Prophet headlines.

"Can I be honest?" James asked. "I have a feeling you're going to win at every game. I'm betting on you, redhead. Head Girl and Quidditch Captain of Gryffindor, no less! This is your year to shine. Hopefully you can also settle down for a real guy too and not a one-night stand, little fuckgirl."

Rose shrieked. "I am NOT a fuckgirl! I just sometimes get drunk and do dumb stuff. But when I'm sober, those boys are idiots. All the boys at our school are so... blah! Ugh, Ravenclaws are know-it-alls, Hufflepuffs are too nice, Gryffindors are idiots, and Slytherins are just out of question."

James coughed loudly, sounding something like, "never sober." "Just wait for it, fuckgirl. The love of your life is heading your way."

As Rose's face began to turn red and she was about to go full out catty on James, Aunt Ginny rushed towards her. "Rose! Congrats on being Head Girl!"

Rose loved Aunt Ginny. The two looked extremely alike with their flaming red hair and freckles. Aunt Ginny was sweet and powerful. "Thanks, Aunt Ginny," Rose said. Aunt Ginny nodded, patted Rose sweetly and then started chatting up with Mum, most likely gossip.

She flipped through the rest of the pages in the envelope, they were all just supplies. Thank god. Rose couldn't handle any more surprises for the day.

* * *

-Scorpius-

* * *

Scorpius quietly tore the letter open. He didn't want his family to be crowded around him, and then be disappointed when there was no badge falling out. Scorpius knew that he wouldn't get the badge. Even though he got prefect, he knew he wasn't perfect.

But boy, Scorpius was in for a surprise. Because he got Head Boy. And no one knew. He couldn't help it. Scorpius shrieked, not with excitement or anger. Simply in shock.

Mum practically broke the door down in fear. She looked at Scorpius, concerned, but was surprised to just see him sitting on his bed, holding his badge.

Scorpius looked up. His blue-green eyes shone brightly as he looked at Mum. "I got Head Boy," he told her.

Mum hugged Scorpius in delight. Scorpius didn't know what to feel. Should he be cheerful? Depressed? Fearful? Angry? Neutral? Mum didn't call Dad, though. That's what Scorpius loved about his mom. She knew he didn't want to share everything with Dad, and she respected that.

Scorpius handed her the letter. "Oh my, you have to get a gold tie to indicate your position of authority. They really want you to flaunt it, don't they?"

Scorpius shrugged. "I guess," he said neutrally.

Dad walked in. Scorpius's stomach dropped. "What's going on?"

Mum looked at Scorpius expectantly. "I got Head Boy," Scorpius mumbled. "I got Head Boy," he repeated, louder.

Dad's face lit up. "Son, that's great. I'm so proud of you!" He awkwardly patted Scorpius's head.

Scorpius sighed. He wished his dad would show more appreciation. He just flashed a fake smile, as if the whole world was waiting for a true reaction.

"We'll go to Diagon Alley tomorrow," Dad decided.

Scorpius glanced at the time. He didn't understand why he had the Muggle clock, but Dad somehow began to grow an obsession of Muggle items. Nobody understood it. According to the time, it was 6 A.M.

"It's early," Scorpius mumbled. "I'm going to sleep." He pushed papers off his bed, and crashed onto his bed. Immediately, he was knocked out by his drowsiness.

* * *

**Hope you all enjoyed! Please review, I'd like some opinions.**

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	3. Chapter 2: Diagon Alley

**Hope you enjoyed the last chapter! Thank you for anyone who is reading. I'd also like to mention that I don't own Harry Potter and will never claim to. Okay, so here we go:**

* * *

-Rose-

* * *

August 20, 2023

Ugh, just woke up. Dad is giving us an hour to dress up, eat, and go to Diagon Alley. We're supposed to meet up with the Malfoys. No one agrees with this except Albus and Uncle Harry. Albus is okay with Scorpius, and is probably the closest thing Scorpius has to a friend. Albus always tells me how Scorpius is an outcast, though, even in his own house. It's a bit depressing. Uncle Harry is close with Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy. I can't stand Scorpius, and he'll just add to my bad mood. I'm going to stay out of his way.

Well, I should get dressed. My robes are deep down, at the bottom of my closet, underneath all the muggle clothes Mum treats me to.

I'm so cranky this morning. It might be 'cause of my period. AGHHH!

* * *

Rose pulls on simple black robes and lets her frizzy red hair out. She rushes downstairs, knowing Hugo will eat everything if she doesn't get there early enough.

She was too late. Hugo was being a particular brat and ate all the strawberry tarts. Rose gulped up the leftover porridge and chewed on buttered toast as the family climbs into the car.

Rose crossed her arms and stares out the window. When they arrive at Diagon Alley, Mum pulls Rose aside. "Are you okay?" she asked, looking genuinely concerned. Rose gave her one look and Mum immediately understood. She just sighed, and muttered to Rose, "We're going to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, okay?"

Rose gave a half-smile. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes immediately cheers her up. Perhaps its the atmosphere, or the fact Uncle George is so nice to her and always gives Rose free merchandise. Everyone knows that Rose is Uncle George's favorite niece because of her love of pranking.

The Weasleys go to the Leaky Cauldron, where the Potters and Malfoys are already chatting with each other. Everyone greets each other. Rose and Lily immediately start talking about what they want to do this year(prank-wise.) Even though Lily was two years younger than her, Rose was very close to Lily. Most people at first sight assumed they were twins, because they looked so alike. They were the same height, shared clothes, and often switched identities for fun. They could blab on forever about anything, but during the school year, Albus is Rose's best guy friend and partner-in-crime.

"So, where do we go next?" Uncle Harry asked, once everyone caught his attention.

"Let's have the Heads decide," Mr. Malfoy proposed, smiling.

Wait... Heads? Albus isn't Head Boy, which means...

She looked at Scorpius in horror, who had already come to the same conclusion.

"This cannot be happening," Rose mumbled. She wanted to run. He just had to ruin her year.

As these thoughts went through Rose's mind, Scorpius had ran out of the Leaky Cauldron. There was a silence, and then Albus spoke up. "I'll get him," and Albus ran off to chase Scorpius.

Everyone stared at Rose. Already, she was being given responsibility. What does she do? Rose said calmly, "Can we go to the robe store? I'd like to get those gold ties."

The silence was broken. The group began to walk rather slowly, perhaps waiting for Albus to come back with Scorpius.

"What was that about?" Lily whispered to Rose.

"Honestly," Rose sighed, "He hates me more than I hate him. I don't like him because he's such a loser and a party pooper. Nobody likes him. But he has no right to hate me."

"Well," Lily said, "remember that prank in fifth year?"

Rose groaned. "He's so sensitive! Everyone knows it was aimed at all the Slytherins. He's such a loser that no one bother to tip him off. It's his own fault."

"You know, I think he pushes himself away. Albus is always nice to Scorpius, but they aren't even friends because Scorpius pushes himself away. The question is: why does he do it?"

* * *

-Scorpius-

* * *

Scorpius ran faster than he never had before. He was never known for being athletic. His long, lanky legs were too awkward to move properly.

He went to a hidden alley he discovered last year. It was quiet and unseen. Nobody could find him here.

Scorpius hated Rose. He knew that the prank was pointed at him. He hated her for her torment, her bullying, the constant embarrassment. If she didn't hate him, he wouldn't be considered such a loser. But everything needs Rose Weasley's approval in order for it to be considered good. Who cares if she's daughter of two war heroes? Nobody cares about the present. All they care about is Dad's past.

Rose was the most popular girl in school. Now, being Head Girl and in seventh year, everyone looks up to her. The fact that he has to work with her means she'll torture him constantly. This year was supposed to be another year of ignoring her. Last year didn't work out, but he wanted this year to. But no. Because Rose Weasley just HAS to be Head Girl.

Other children of Death Eaters go to Durmstrang. Only Scorpius goes to Hogwarts, because his dad is now on the good side. But no one understands that. They hear Malfoy and think, "Death Eater, war, don't kill me, evil or Voldemort." That's it.

Scorpius became so lost in his thoughts in his dark corner of the alley that he didn't even hear Albus sit down next to him.

"Hey, man, you okay?" Albus asked.

"No, I'm fucking pissed," Scorpius snapped.

There was a short silence, and then Albus replied, "Wow, that was motivational. That'll be the next headline of the Daily Prophet."

Scorpius laughed. The Daily Prophet was known for taking anything the war heroes and their friends/children said and trying to write stories about it. After all, they were all celebrities.

"So, you want to stay here or face the redhead?" Albus asked.

Scorpius told Albus, "I'll stay here. I don't want to face her."

"Dude, why are you letting her control your life? This is your year. You are representing all of Slytherin with your Head Boy Badge. You are showing the world that you are no son of a bitch."

"Okay, now that deserves a three page article," Scorpius said, clapping mockingly.

Albus playfully slaps Scorpius. "Why do you hate her so much?" He asked, his tone turning serious.

Scorpius ran his hands through his hair, sighing. "She makes my life a living hell for no fucking reason. She shits on me and I don't even deserve it."

Albus was not one to lie. He was very straightforward. "Well, the whole school considers you a loser, and their views seriously affected her. You are the son of an ex-Death Eater. You are the only son of an ex-Death Eater in this school. People kind of feel a need to shit on you. And if you showed you have a personality, they might like you better."

Scorpius stayed silent and only listened.

"You push yourself away, you know," Albus said. He offered his hand to Scorpius. "C'mon, get up, we have to go meet with them whether you like it or not."

Scorpius didn't take Albus's hand and got up by himself. Albus raised his eyebrows, as if saying, See, I was right.

Scorpius hated it, because Albus was right. But for once, he decided not to hate on Albus. Albus was the closest thing he had to a true friend, anyways.

The two boys walked down the alley to the Potters, Weasleys, and Malfoys. Ignoring everyone's concerns, he stuck by Albus, staying silent through the entire trip. He never said a word as they bought books, got measured for robes, and visited Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. For Scorpius, the day was already over.

* * *

-Rose-

* * *

When Scorpius and Albus returned, Scorpius had a face of stone. He was silent. Lily and Rose gossiped more. Scorpius stuck by Albus, so the two girls couldn't even find out what was going on. They discussed it with each other, making up ridiculous theories.

"Maybe he's pregnant," Lily whispered, giggling. The two girls almost had a laughing fit.

Rose, secretly, hoped they could talk. She wanted to know what was going on between them. She hoped he would just give her a cold nod, not go crazy on her. So, as Lily and Hugo searched for their books together, Rose joined Albus and Scorpius.

"Hey, guys," she said casually. She glanced at Albus, who gave her a tiny shake of the head. She understood that it wasn't a good time to talk to Scorpius, but Rose doesn't listen to people. So she went straight up to Scorpius, covering his point of view. He ignored her and moved to another section of books. Rose sighed and gave up. She could tell what she was getting: the silent treatment. Honestly, they never can work together. They would either never speak or constantly yell. There is no in between. Patrols would be so annoying.

Finally, they reached Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Rose instantly cheered up. After all that has happened with Scorpius and Head Girl duties, Rose needed an Uncle George.

Immediately, when they entered, they were greeted by Aunt Angelina. All the teens shrieked and hugged Aunt Angelina, who was just too lovable. The store was closed, since it was a Sunday. Only relatives and close friends could come in.

Aunt Angelina took Rose aside and whispered, "Uncle George is in the back."

Rose smiled and raced to the back. "Uncle George!" she yelled, hugging him. Every time she was with Uncle George, she felt like a little kid again.

Uncle George smiled at her with the happy-sad eyes. Those eyes were cheerful and bright, but at the corner you could still see his misery of losing his twin. Rose had never met Uncle Fred, but she could tell he was an amazing man. You can't be damaged by the death of an awful man.

"I've got some brand new pranks for you, Rosie," Uncle George told Rose, as Rose followed him upstairs to the secret laboratory at the top of the building.

"Did you hear, Uncle George? I'm Head Girl, and Malfoy is Head Boy!" Rose complained.

Uncle George grinned. "That's like when Draco and Hermione were Head Boy and Girl! They hate each other a bit less now, I think. No, wait, they actually hate each other more..." he trailed off, thinking hard.

Rose sighed, waiting for a reason to be happy.

"Ah, yes, I remember another one! Uncle Harry's parents, the creators of the All-Mighty Chosen One. In their seventh year, they were Lily Evans and James Potter. They hated each other, but became Head Boy and Girl. Somehow, they fell in love and got married!" George exclaimed cheerfully.

Rose cried out, "So you're saying I'm going to hate Scorpius even more or get married to him?!"

Uncle George chucked. "No, no. I'm saying it'll be somewhere in between. You guys will become great friends out of this, I promise. Besides, you have Quidditch Captain to back you up. And, I'm betting that Albus will win all the games. So you better prove me wrong!"

Rose laughed so hard she couldn't breathe. Finally, she relaxed. "Friends, and Quidditch champion? You know, this year will be much better, I think."

"That's what I want to hear," Uncle George said, ruffling Rose's hair. "Now, back to business, miss. We have Deflatable Floors, that takes a simple flick of the wand, and the floor is deflatable. One step onto it and you will fall to the dungeons! There is also something for those looking for true love-" here he winked at Rose not very subtly-"love summoners! These come in ties for the men, and bows for the ladies, that summon someone who should be your true love. Last but not least, we have Invisible Brooms. These brooms are invisible, so it will look like you are simply flying without a broom. Best trick of the eye ever!"

Rose said in a very formal tone, "I'll take them all, mister. How much?"

"For you, miss, free!" Uncle George said, like he does every time.

Rose grabs three boxes of each and packs them in gift bags. Oh, her friend Emmeline would LOVE this.

* * *

-Scorpius-

* * *

August 20, 2023

Dear Journal,

Rose is the new Head Girl. I freaked out and ran stupidly. Now I look like I'm scared of her or can't handle it. I regret what I did, but then again I don't. I just don't know what to feel.

Have you ever wondered why I hate Rose so much, Journal? Not going to tell you. I'll save it for another day when we have more time.

Albus says I push myself away. Do I? What do I do? I don't know.

I think I just like to have limited friends. Is that so bad? Wish you could speak and tell me something.

Well, I'll sleep now listening to Ed Sheeran and maybe some American music. Muggles have the best music ever.

Sincerely,

Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy

* * *

**So, did you guys enjoy? Wow, that was a chapter. Review please. :) BYEEE! Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 3: McGonagall's Not-So-New Plan

**Hello again! Thank you for everyone who has read, followed, and favorited this story! This chapter will be a bit short, but the next chapter will be much more longer. This chapter is only from Rose's point of view. I've also decided, moving forward, to write and edit as many chapters as I can on the weekends, and then release them during the week.**

* * *

-Rose-

* * *

As soon as Rose woke up, she intended to find her father. Dad was great at giving advice, and Rose wanted to know his take on the whole head boy/head girl situation. Rose was slightly cheered up from her visit yesterday to Uncle George, but it wasn't enough. She needed her dad.

Rose went downstairs to breakfast. By the smell of bacon frying, Rose could tell: this was a Muggle-made breakfast. Since Mum was Muggle-born, Mum still insisted on sometimes doing things the Muggle way. Because of this, Rose knew how to tell time with clocks, watch TV, and use a cellphone.

"Morning, Mum," Rose greeted her mother cheerfully as she sat down across from Hugo. "Is it Gracie's day off?"

Gracie was a free house elf that worked for the Weasleys. Mum was very kind to the house elf, and gave Gracie two days off every week. Mum even paid the house elf five galleons weekly.

"Yes, I told her to take a day off, I'm doing a late shift today anyways," Mum replied, dropping bacon on three plates.

"Where's Dad?" Rose asked.

"Oh, he went early for work," she replied casually.

Rose raised her eyebrows at Hugo, who shook his head slightly and glanced up meaningfully. Immediately, Rose understood.

Rose gobbled up her entire breakfast. She may be a girl, but she eats more than anyone else. Strangely enough, Rose never gained weight from it.

"Aren't you full yet?" Hugo asked with wide eyes after Rose finished her third serving.

"Barely," Rose told him, grinning with delight.

"Yes, well, I don't have enough left for you, Rose," Hermione said. "Breakfast is over. Go upstairs."

"No wonder you don't have a boyfriend," Hugo muttered. But nothing could get past Mum, and she heard Hugo. Raising her eyebrows at Hugo, she advanced toward him. Rose knew she had to act quickly.

"C'mon, Hugo, let's go upstairs to discuss about your prefect duties," she told him loudly, and the siblings giggled as they raced up to the attic and locked the door.

Mum stood in her tracks confused. Below the attic, they could hear Mum yell, "What?!"

The siblings laughed until they couldn't breathe. At last, Hugo gasped, "Prefect duties? Seriously?!"

Rose just shook her head and let out one last giggle.

Then, when the siblings calmed down, she slapped Hugo's head. Hugo cried out. "Ow! What was that for?"

"For pointing out my relationship status, you dick," she snapped.

Hugo just rolled his eyes. "Everyone knows you're a fuckgirl."

"What does that even mean?" Rose asked, looking absolutely pissed with a slightly hint of confusion.

"Oh, it's like the American term fuckboy, but you know, for girls. Basically, you play with boys' hearts and lead them on. James told me."

Rose was too pissed to even think about killing James. "I DO NOT DO THAT TO BOYS!" She screamed. Thank god the attic was soundproof.

Hugo glanced at her mildly. "Rose, I'm a Gryffindor boy. I have guy friends, and I know what they're thinking."

Rose cooled off as she took in Hugo's words. "Wait... seriously?"

Hugo nodded.

Rose sighed. "I never knew... but I honestly don't mean to." She pondered on this, and then remembered something else. "Besides my relationship status, what about yours? When are you going to tell Mum about-"

Hugo put his hand over Rose's mouth and glared at her. Rose, in return, bit his hand and Hugo yelped.

"You need to stop being so bloody afraid," Rose told Hugo. "Just tell them the truth."

Hugo shook his head. "Do you want to know where Dad actually is or not?" He asked, changing the subject.

Rose immediately started worrying about Dad. "Where? Oh my god, is he in Azkaban?"

Hugo laughed. "No, nothing that serious. He went to Hogwarts. I heard him, he took some floo powder and went to McGonagall. I think he's going to complain about a certain Head Boy."

Rose slammed her head against the door repeatedly. This would either result in embarrassment, anger, or something amazing. "I'm going after him, I want to hear what they're talking about," she told Hugo.

"Let's go," Hugo said, inviting himself in without even asking. Hugo always did that.

The two sneaked into their father's office, where a jar of floo powder lay on the desk. Rose threw the Floo powder into the fireplace, and yelled, "Hogwarts," and she and Hugo jumped in.

* * *

The siblings found themselves in the Professor's office. They almost screamed in shock, but the room was empty.

"What are you doing here?" Severus Snape hissed from his portrait.

"I believe, Severus, that they mean to spy on their father. Children, they are coming upstairs, better find a good hiding spot," Albus Dumbledore said.

Rose smiled at Dumbledore, who even in his death, had a great sense of humor. Hugo dragged her inside a large cupboard, where they could see the view of the office through a crack.

The door flew open, and in came Professor McGonagall and Rose's father. Dad looked stressed and angry, even as Professor McGonagall gave him tea and sat him down.

"Okay, now can you please explain what is going on, Minerva?" Dad snapped.

Professor McGonagall sighed. "Mr. Weasley, I kindly ask that you do not interrupt me while I explain."

Dad nodded.

McGonagall began: "It is no lie that every Head Boy and Girl are able to bond during the seventh year. As headmistress, I always do my best to choose enemies that by the end of the year, become friends. Perhaps you are familiar with two of these pairings, which are Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy, and Mr and Mrs. Potter. Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley are great enemies, and putting them together as Head Boy and Girl is to spare many headaches. I can assure you that their relationship will be much less rocky by the end of the year." She paused. "Any questions?"

Dad asked, "Well, Malfoy and Hermione hate each other even more now. Honestly, what do you want of my daughter?"

"The reason why Mr. Malfoy and Mrs. Weasley hate each other are their own personal reasons. However, I can assure you that they did grow to become friends in their seventh year. Whatever happened after that is none of my business. I want your daughter and Scorpius Malfoy to bond. The families of these children are both war heroes, and a rocky relationship will not help anybody. I am helping you, Mr. Weasley. I ask that you take the help."

"But, Minerva, I don't want them to get married like Harry's parents. And I certainly don't need them to become friends. Scorpius Malfoy is the son of an ex-Death Eater. I do not trust Draco Malfoy completely, and I never will. Please respect my concerns as a father and withdraw Scorpius Malfoy as Head Boy."

McGonagall sighed. "Mr. Weasley, I do not think you're understanding the situation. Scorpius Malfoy has always been fit for the job as Head Boy. I cannot simply withdraw him. Scorpius Malfoy also has depression problems. He is often alone, and lacks many social skills. Being with Rose Weasley, who is very social, will help him. Additionally, Rose Weasley is a troublemaker, not unlike you and Mr. Potter. I am hoping Scorpius's good behavior will rub off on her. They both have their flaws and perfections, and putting them together allows these perfections to rub off each other. In order for Mr. Malfoy's depression to cease, he needs another person who has much more cheerful thoughts. They are a perfect match as Head Boy and Head Girl."

Dad rolled his eyes. "Are you sure you are not a fangirl doing that ridiculous thing called 'shipping'?"

McGonagall looked flabbergasted and highly offended. "Mr. Weasley, of course not! Now, please, I am not changing my mind. Goodbye."

She waited patiently as Dad glared at her and left, slamming the door on his way out.

"Minerva, you handled that very well," Dumbledore said, complimenting her.

McGonagall smiled. There was a moment of silence as she pondered about something. She turned to Snape. "Severus, you won't happen to know why and Mrs. Weasley hate each other even more?" She asked curiously.

Snape gave a mysterious smile. "Why, of course not."

McGonagall nodded and walked out. As soon as the door closed, Rose and Hugo came out of the cupboard.

The headmasters and headmistresses all watched the siblings carefully, but the siblings ignored them.

They threw Floo powder and Flooed home, going into the Attic the minute they got to Weasley Manor.

* * *

Sitting in silence for ten minutes in the attic allowed Rose to organize her thoughts. Finally, she said, "I'm not going to become friends with Malfoy. I don't care what problems he has. I'm not falling into a teacher's trap."

Hugo just glanced at Rose, looking absolutely exhausted. His eyes were puffy and covered with shadows of little sleep. "You do you," he mumbled, and he closed his eyes and fell asleep on Rose's lap.

Rose wished someone could just give her a proper opinion.

* * *

August 21, 2023

Today Dad went to McGonagall to try to get Malfoy out of being Head Boy. Apparently Malfoy has depression problems and wants Malfoy and me to bond. That's why she wants us to be Head Boy and Girl. I'm not going to give in, though. I'm not going to be the result of a teacher's trap.

I don't think Dad likes it either. He didn't mention it, but he looked very stressed and angry during dinner. I heard him and Mum talking about tonight. They might still be talking about it now, but I've already tuned them out.

It's just... Malfoy, depression. It's way too much, too unexpected, that's all.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! I'd really like some reviews, I want to know what you guys think and where you think I should go next.**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Harry Potter because no one can replicate Harry Potter. I simply brought these characters of J.K. Rowling's to life in my own work, and creating my own plot.**


	5. Chapter 4: Welcome Back to Hogwarts

**Hello again! I've also decided to start using song titles as chapter titles now and then, because well, titles are hard. Anytime I do that, I'll give you all the artist of the song. Because everyone needs musical knowledge. Here we go:**

* * *

-Scorpius-

* * *

Scorpius arrived early to King's Cross, Platform Nine and Three Quarters. He did not ever want to be the tardy awkward boy asking to sit in a compartment full of strangers. Once he boarded the train, Scorpius decided to find the compartment closest to the prefects' carriage. No one ever wanted to be near there, except Scorpius.

He found the smallest empty compartment and sat alone, giving himself a window seat. According to the letter, the meeting began once everyone gathered at noon, after lunch. Izzy, the house elf of Malfoy Manor, had already packed a large gourmet lunch. Scorpius nibbled at the sandwich, too lost in his universe of thoughts.

What was his plan going to be, concerning Weasley? The silent treatment obviously wouldn't work out, and having a row every five minutes would be just as bad. As he pondered on this, slowly finishing off his lunch, the compartment door flew open.

It was none other than Rose Weasley, speak of the devil.

"Malfoy!" Weasley snapped. "We have to go together as Head Boy and Girl, otherwise it's not very professional, and-"

Scorpius cut her off. "What would you know about being professional, Weasley?"

* * *

-Rose-

* * *

Rose was about to cry in frustration. Here she was, about to have a row with Malfoy, and they haven't even reached Hogwarts! It's ridiculous. Rose wasn't feeling very well, because that morning was the very morning her parents decided to scream at each other in the car about none other than Malfoy. "He'll go death eater on her," Dad insisted while Mum said "People change, Ron." Then, Dad countered with a "Like you and Malfoy?" which made Mum go red in anger. Malfoy was the one who caused all these problems.

She decided to be mature. It was a new year, a new start. And no one, especially not Malfoy, would ruin her new beginning. "Malfoy, can we just go, please?" she begged. "Everyone is already there."

Malfoy said smugly, "I never thought I'd hear the day Weasley says 'please' and starts begging."

Rose was too exhausted to even reply, and opened the compartment door and left for the carriage with Malfoy on her trail.

She climbed into the prefects' carriage. They all glanced at her expectantly.

"Okay, everyone, hello. I'm Rose Weasley, Head Girl, and this is Scorpius Malfoy, Head Boy."

"Wow, she knows my first name," Malfoy muttered, "What a miracle."

The prefects sniggered and immediately stopped as they met Rose's eyes. Rose ignored Malfoy's comment and continued on. "So, er..." What was she supposed to say now? Rose glanced at Malfoy, her eyes begging to be saved. Great, in only half an hour, she had begged Malfoy twice.

Malfoy looked slightly amused as the same thought reached his mind. He began to speak. "Okay, I assume everyone read the back of their letters?" Everyone nodded, except Rose who let out a small gasp. There was a back?

Malfoy just snorted and continued on. "On the back, it explains that all prefects will have to do rounds, or patrol, any three nights of week. These nights will be randomized, so that troublemakers don't expect us. A list of your schedules will be posted this weekend, as today is a Friday. Each of these nights consist of a two hour patrol after curfew from 9 to 11. If you are one of the troublemakers, you lose double the amount of points from your House. That is all, you may go."

Rose was shocked. When did Malfoy come up with that speech? It was crazy. She stepped aside and let the prefects go, then was about to leave when a voice stopped her.

"Weasley, wait." Malfoy called out.

Rose turned around. "What is it? Aren't we done here?"

Malfoy scratched his head awkwardly. "Well, since you, er, didn't read the back, Heads have some different rules."

Rose nodded and sat down. "Oh, okay. Aren't they the same as prefects, though?"

Malfoy shook his head and sat down across from her. "No, not really. See, Heads have to do rounds any five nights of a week for three hours after curfew, 9 to 12."

Rose groaned loudly.

"If you think that's bad, listen to this: we have our own Heads tower. It's on the second floor, down the corridor on the left where there is a picture of a little girl in the garden. This week, the password is Winged Keys. As Heads, we have our own common room and separate dorms for ourselves. We even have a secret passage leading directly to the kitchens. No one else can physically enter the Heads tower unless they are, of course, a teacher. People can't get in through the kitchens, through the picture, or even on broomsticks through the windows. And well, that's all the back said, other than what I told the prefects."

Rose's mouth dropped open. "We get our own Heads tower!" she shrieked in excitement. "Do you know how nice it will be like to have your own dorm, your own bathroom, and your own common room? This is amazing!"

Rose didn't even care that she had to live with Malfoy 24/7. She had her own room, anyways.

Rose, in her excitement, ran out of the carriage and down the entire train to her compartment.

"Oh my god, guess what?!" Rose exclaimed as soon as she entered her apartment. In it were her three best friends: Emmeline Finnigan, Samantha Longbottom, and Nicole Rivers.

The three girls jumped at the sound of Rose's high, squeaky voice. Rose never got this excited.

"Rose, calm your tits. Hakuna your matatas. Now," Emmeline said, rolling her eyes at Rose's over-excitement.

"But, Em, Heads get their own tower!" Rose practically shrieked.

"What?" All three girls asked at the same time, staring at Rose in shock.

Rose nodded and sat down, opening a Chocolate Cauldron as she spoke. "I'll let you have that one, but you need to tell me what's going on," Nicole told her, acting as if Rose wouldn't have taken the cauldron anyways.

"Okay," Rose began. "So, basically, Malfoy and I have to do patrol 5 random nights a week, from 9 to 12. Three hours, I know! But the good thing is, we get our own Heads Tower. I have my own dorm and bathroom and I have to share the common room with him, but it'll be easy to ignore him. I hope so."

"How is that good news? You're leaving us!" Samantha said.

Rose laughed. "I'm not leaving you guys forever, silly. We still are Gryffindor girls. But this is just way too awesome to complain about. And sorry guys, no one can sneak in. Malfoy said there is no way, and he named all the ways I was thinking of sneaking you guys in. Only teachers can come in. The con is that I'm stuck with Malfoy, but like I said before, ignoring him will be easy."

"And honestly, Emmeline?" Rose added. "Hakuna your matatas? Where... how?"

The girls burst into giggles. Rose almost choked on her chocolate cauldron while giggling.

Nicole was the first to calm down. She immediately waved her wand and summoned all the food she bought, piling it up neatly.

"Aw, Nicole, you're rubbing it in my face," Rose whined. Out of all four girls, Rose was the only one who underage. All the girls were seventeen and able to do magic.

"Honey, calm down, we're almost at Hogwarts!" Emmeline said, looking out the window. They could see the castle, almost entirely shrouded by mist.

"By the way, Rose, what's your plan for Quidditch trials?" Nicole asked.

"I'm going to put everyone, even old players, in the trials," Rose explained. "We need the best team. But I can guarantee you, Nicole and Emmeline a spot unless you both forgot how to fly."

Nicole and Emmeline looked horrified at the thought of forgetting how to fly. They both were naturals. Emmeline may have gotten the talent from her father, but no one knows how Nicole, a muggle-born, obtained the talent. Nicole was the true natural. Samantha, on the other hand, hated Quidditch and was uncoordinated, not unlike her father, Neville Longbottom. She had a natural talent for Herbology like both her parents, and was the Hermione Granger of their seventh year.

The train suddenly stopped. "Guess we're at Hogwarts, then," Rose said. It was strange, though. The view outside was just darkness. Usually, there would be boats and Hagrid with a lantern.

The girls were silent, for there was an ominous feeling in the air.

They heard footsteps coming towards their dorm, but then it stopped.

The compartment door flew open. "Mudblood... I can smell you," an old man hissed. He began to cackle, and the cackles turned into screams of horror.

Nicole stood in shock, confused. She had never been called a Mudblood before, even though she was familiar with the term. In these situations, Nicole would have been the one ready to fight. But today, she was completely caught off-guard.

As Rose took out her wand, not caring about the consequences, Emmeline yelled, "Stupefy!"

The man fell down, and behind him stood Scorpius Malfoy.

* * *

-Scorpius-

* * *

Scorpius met Rose Weasley's eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, to explain, to say something, but nothing came out.

"You!" Weasley screamed. She began to curse at him like never before, but Scorpius tuned her out glanced down at the man crumpled on the floor. He bent down and gently pulled off the hood. His finger brushed the skin, which felt old, wrinkled, and papery.

It was Lucius Malfoy.

"What are you doing?" Weasley yelled, her voice turning from anger to horror.

Scorpius could not think, he could not breathe. His eyes met Weasley's once again, and everything turned black.

* * *

-Rose-

* * *

Rose stared at the two crumpled shapes on the floor. One was an old man, one was Scorpius Malfoy. There was nothing she could do except scream at the top of her lungs.

All at once, the entire train came to the compartment. Rose couldn't take it anymore, she began to cry. The fear, the stress, everything was too much. She sat down, her head in her hands as Emmeline and Samantha explained to the conductor what was happening. Nicole sat next to Rose, in a deeper state of shock than Rose. Nicole was comforted by Albus, who she's always had a huge crush on. But now, in her state of shock, she couldn't live and cherish the moment.

Rose didn't understand. "I don't get it," she whispered to Hugo and Lily. "What's going on? Why? How did he…" she trailed off. Lily stood up to check Malfoy's pulse. No one wanted to touch the creepy old man.

"I think you need to calm down," Hugo told Rose.

Rose shook her head. "How do I calm down? What do I do? What's going on? Why is everyone so quiet?" She began to yell with tears running down her face. Someone took out their wand and whispered one word, and she fell unconscious.

* * *

When Rose awoke, she was in the hospital wing, next to Emmeline, Samantha, and Nicole. Madam Pomfrey hovered over her. "Here, drink this," she said. She handed a Calming Draught to Rose and her friends. They all drank it, and Rose immediately fell into serenity.

"Now ladies, I think it will be best if you go to your dorms," Madam Pomfrey said. "What has happened to you four is quite traumatizing. The Calming Draught will make you sleepy the minute you catch sight of a bed."

Rose and the other girls didn't even argue. Rose was about to turn right with the rest of the girls when she remembers the Heads Tower. "See you in the morning," she said, and turned left for the first time in her life.

* * *

-Scorpius-

* * *

When he woke, Scorpius couldn't feel anything or see at all. He struggled to open his eyes, but they felt stuck together.

"Is he awake yet?" one voice whispered.

"What happened?" another voice asked.

"Please step away," a voice said smoothly. The voice came closer and closer.

"Mr. Malfoy, attempt to open your mouth," the voice said. Scorpius's mouth twitched, but it could not open.

The voice sighed. "I see what has happened. All of you, go back to the feast. The Sorting has just begun."

There were steps, getting quieter as they walked away. The voice continued. "Madam Pomfrey, I do not think this was a dementor attack. Ms. Weasley, Longbottom, Rivers, and Finnigan have all told me their accounts. They said the man looked insane, and his eyes were inhumane. They were completely black. What could it be?"

Another voice gasped and said gravely, "It is the Dark Dementor."

"But, I thought we banished dementors..."

"No, Minerva, this man must have been in Azkaban when the dementors were there. He may have escaped later on, but the dementors swallowed up his soul because he didn't give in. He must have committed quite a crime to be punished like that. A Dark Dementor is a person whose soul is swallowed by the dementor. The person becomes the dementor, disguised with human features. They are extremely dangerous. Just touching them will immobilize you. I do not believe Mr. Malfoy had a full body contact with him. If he did, he would be dead now. What did you do to the man?"

Minerva says, "We took him to Mr. Potter, of course. Mr. Potter is currently examining the body. He is the only connection to true Dark Magic, so we go to him for these situations. We did not touch the man and just levitated him. Madam Pomfrey, could you also get some calming draughts for the four girls? They are horrified by what has happened."

"Certainly," Madam Pomfrey said. "I will also get some chocolate infused with a special Tactus Draught that will help him regain feeling."

The steps left and came back. Scorpius could smell warm chocolate, and wished he could open his mouth to eat it. Something touched his tongue, it was the chocolate. As he savored the delight, he let out a sigh. He opened his eyes and began to feel quite better. His entire body was numb, but not his face.

"Professor?" he croaked, looking at McGonagall.

"Mr. Malfoy, I need to know what you saw," McGonagall said strictly.

Scorpius struggled to form words. "I... saw... Lu-Lucius... Malfoy, my... grandfather. He's old now... I touched him... only with my finger. Left thumb..." he gasped again.

His eyes followed McGonagall as the headmistress ran out the door, most likely to send an owl to Mr. Potter.

Madam Pomfrey rushed over and examined his left thumb. It turned purple and was swelling. She took out her wand and touched the tip, and the swelling began to cease.

Scorpius started wiggling his fingers and toes. After half an hour, he was able to sit up. "Can I go to the feast?" he asked Madam Pomfrey.

"No," she said strictly. "You are to stay here until we figure out who or what that man is, where he was before he came to the train, and why he came."

"I'm hungry," Scorpius replied. "Madam Pomfrey, this is my last year. Are you seriously going to make me miss my last feast?"

"The Halloween feast is better," Madam Pomfrey snapped.

"But what if I'm sick then, too?" Scorpius countered.

Madam Pomfrey only replied, "So be it."

Scorpius groaned. He would not get anything out of this. Besides, the Heads tower led right to the kitchens, anyways. He fell asleep with dreams of pumpkin pies and papery skin.

* * *

When Scorpius woke up, he felt just fine. There was no aches or numbness. He stood up and walked back and forth, shaking out anything left. He glanced at the office, from where snores emanated into the hospital wing. Quickly, he snuck out, thanking Merlin that the hospital wing was on the second floor. He walked down the corridor, turned left.

The little girl was stared at Scorpius with drowsy eyes. "Winged keys," he said, and the picture swung open.

Inside, was Rose Weasley, who was working. Weasley... working. She began writing something down, and Scorpius just stared at her, too astounded to say anything.

Weasley glanced at him. "Well, don't just stand there like an idiot. You should go unpack."

"What are you doing?" Scorpius asked.

"What do you think I'm doing? Patrol schedules, you prude. I figured you might never make it out of the wing alive, so I'll just take over. And don't look so surprised, I'm not doing this again. Merlin, doing this reminds me why I don't do homework. It's so boring."

Scorpius shook out of his state of shock and hurried to his room. He was surprised to see a large queen-sized bed with an excessive amount of pillows. The entire theme of the room was green and silver. The entire room was cleaned, except for his trunk, which lay on the floor, out of place. Scorpius unpacked quickly. He was worried what Weasley did to the schedules. Scorpius dressed out of his robes and into more casual clothing, then went into the common room.

Weasley was still hard at work. Scorpius sat next to her. "Let me see it," he said, grabbing the schedules. Surprisingly enough, the entire schedule was perfect, exactly the way he would do it.

"Is it good?" Weasley asked.

Scorpius just shrugged. "It's whatever. Now we just have to post it in front of the Great Hall. Did you plan out the next prefect meeting?"

"I was thinking tomorrow, at 2 pm," Weasley suggested.

Scorpius nodded, but could not get over this sudden change. "Well, I'm going to the kitchens." Food would help him, and distract him from the strange, sudden change that was Rose Weasley.

* * *

-Rose-

* * *

After Malfoy left for the kitchens, Rose decided to go back to the Gryffindor towers. Just because her friends couldn't come to her, it didn't mean she couldn't go to her friends.

Rose went to the Gryffindor towers and stared at the Fat Lady.

"Well?" the Lady said expectantly, looking at her expectantly.

"I, er, forgot the password," Rose said.

"No password, no submission," the Fat Lady said firmly.

"Rose!" A voice called out. Rose turned around, it was Emmeline, but she was with someone she had never seen before.

This person was a girl. She had beautiful jet-black hair like Uncle Harry, but it flowed out veela-style like Aunt Fleur. Her eyes were a stunning blue, and she was tall and had curves in all the right places.

Emmeline ran up to her. "Hey, Rose! What are you doing here?"

Rose raised one eyebrow at Emmeline.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce you two!" Emmeline said, looking between the two girls. "Rose, this is Grazie. She's a transfer from Beauxbatons, and is my new roommate. Grazie, this is Rose Weasley. She used to live with us, but she became Head Girl and got her own dorm. Grazie is German, by the way, Rose."

"Hello," Rose said tentatively. "Nice to meet you."

Grazie nodded at her. How rude, Rose thought. She can't even bother to say hello back. So this was her replacement?

"Anyways, Rose, why are you here?" Emmeline asked again.

"I wanted to go visit you guys, but I forgot the password. I guess they assumed I didn't need it," Rose said, laughing a little.

"Well, good thing you forgot, because our dorm is empty. Nicole went to the pitch to practice her flying and Samantha went with Mitchell Brown to look for, well, you and Malfoy. They wanted to know about the next prefect meeting and when the schedule will be posted. Grazie and I were just going to pick up our bags. I'm going to show her around the school and give her a tour," Emmeline explained.

"Oh, okay, I need to find Samantha and Brown, I guess," Rose said. She quickly ran away, not wanting to stay with Grazie and Emmeline any longer than neccesary.

Rose ran back to the tower to see Samantha and Brown waiting there.

"Samantha! Brown!" she yelled out.

They turned around. "Rose, when's the next prefect meeting?" Samantha hollered as Rose ran up to them.

"Tomorrow, 2 pm. And I think Malfoy posted up the schedule for rounds."

Brown said, "Well, in that case, I'm off. Bye, Sa-Sa!"

As he walked away, Rose gave Samantha a questioning look.

"When I was leaving the common room, he found me and asked where I was going. I told him that I'm going to meet you, and he insisted on coming. He keeps flirting with me and calling me Sa-Sa. It's nasty. I can't believe he has to be the other Gryffindor prefect!" Samantha explained, rolling her eyes.

Rose distinctly remembered stories about Lavender Brown. Like mother, like son. "Well, did you meet Grazie?" Rose asked.

"Yes, and I can hear your tone of jealousy. She's not replacing you, I promise."

Rose gave a small smile. Samantha was very good at reading people, and gave absolutely wonderful advice.

"So, Rose, since you're Head Girl, do you plan on pranking at all this year?" Samantha asked, grinning.

Rose replied, "Don't worry, I won't get caught. Plus, I have Deflatable Floors. Who could resist that?"

Samantha rolled her eyes. "Only you, Head Girl. Only you."

* * *

**So how did everyone enjoy that introduction of Lucius Malfoy? Dark Dementors? Yep, that whole Dark Dementors idea came from my brain. But, the rest isn't mine. Hope you all enjoyed! Review. Thanks!**


	6. Chapter 5: False Pretense

**Hello my amazing readers! I'm really happy that anyone is reading this story. Thank you so much to my first reviewer, Arabella!**

**The title is False Pretense, after the song False Pretense by Red Jumpsuit !**

**Here we go:**

* * *

-Rose-

* * *

As weeks passed by, Rose began to feel more comfortable being Head Girl. She was now able to hold civil conversations with Malfoy. The gist of these conversations were mostly discussing Head duties and throwing insults at one another, but it was a start.

When Rose entered the Heads tower, she immediately noticed the bright pink flyer on the Bulletin board. The bulletin board mirrored the same boards as those of the Gryffindor and Slytherin towers, so it was a combination of everything on Slytherin and Gryffindor. The pink flyer said:

_ANNOUNCEMENTS_

_-Hogsmeade visit on Saturday, October 7_

_-Slytherin Quidditch trials on Sunday, September 24 at 2pm_

_-Gryffindor Quidditch trials to be announced_

_-Heads meeting on Saturday, September 30 at 4pm in the Professor McGonagall's office_

Rose gasped. Albus was already holding trials? Merlin, his trials were tomorrow! Rose was so behind! Rose thought of whether she should just screw homework and hold trials, when she recalled a recent conversation with Professor McGonagall:

_"Professor? Did you need me for something?" Rose asked, confused as to why she was here._

_"Please sit down," McGonagall said. Rose's stomach dropped as she sat down in the wooden chair._

_"I'd like to talk with you," McGonagall continued. "I understand, Rose, that you have a record of many detentions and many failing grades. Rose Weasley, as Head Girl, you are expected to maintain good grades and be an example. This year, I ask that you do your homework and study for tests. I am giving you until the holidays to get yourself back on track. I expect at least an A from you by then. There will be no more Ts and Ds, Ms. Weasley. I do not expect you, however, to start doing homework all of a sudden. You may start slow, working hard on one of your classes the first week, then two of your classes, and so on. But if you take your midterm exams and get even one failing grade, I will give you a tutor. In less than a year, you must begin to think about your career. Please consider what I have said. I hope you act upon what I've told you. That is all, Ms. Weasley. You may go."_

Rose hated tutoring with a burning passion. She felt stupid and silly. Even when her cousins tutored her, she imagined them silently mocking her. "Hermione Granger's daughter, huh? Yeah, right." Rose would do anything to get out of tutoring.

Remembering this, she still decided to plan Quidditch trials on Wednesday, September 27. For one night, she could just screw homework.

"Weasley? Er, do you know what McGonagall needs us for?" Malfoy asked. Rose didn't even notice him standing next to her. She glanced at Malfoy. He never smiled, but Rose couldn't imagine him as depressed. He always kept a neutral face on. He never cried.

"Weasley..." Malfoy waved his hand is Rose's face. Rose noticed a scar on Malfoy's hand.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing to Malfoy's hand.

Malfoy quickly said, "It's nothing, nothing at all. Weasley, I was asking you a question. What does McGonagall need us for?"

"No idea," Rose replied, still glancing suspiciously at Malfoy's scar.

* * *

-Scorpius-

* * *

Scorpius wished Weasley would stop looking at his scar. It brought back painful memories he did not want to recall. He put his hand behind his back and escaped to his dorm, feeling awkward.

Scorpius sat down on his bed, lost in thought. The last few weeks were easy and simple. There was no yelling, not too much homework, and rounds with Rose were pure silence. Scorpius loved this silence. He always believed that silence was golden.

He decided to go to the kitchens, where there was something to distract himself with. The secret passageway was opened through tapping the window three times, which opened a hole in the floor. Scorpius jumped into the hole, and he slid down right into a couch.

"Mr. Malfoy!" the elves squeaked. "How can we help you, sir?" They bowed deeply to him.

"Er..." Scorpius looked around, and saw Hugo Weasley. Eh. Weasley was rude, but Scorpius didn't care at that point.

He walked over to Weasley, who was sitting on a stool, holding a bottle. Three more empty bottles lay on the counter.

"Hey, Weasley," Scorpius greeted, sitting down next to the boy.

Weasley's eyes were bloodshot. His breath smelled of Firewhisky. "Well, if it isn't the Head Boy. Arrest me, won't you?"

Weasley was obviously extremely drunk. "How many bottles did you have?" he demanded.

"This is my fourth," Weasley said, smirking. "Get the handcuffs already!" he yelled.

"Weasley, I'm not a Muggle policeman," Scorpius said. The boy was acting crazy. "Now, come on, I'm going to fix you up."

Weasley began to scream, punching the table like a child. Scorpius muttered a levitating charm and Levitated him to the couch where the secret passageway was. He needed to get Rose Weasley. He had never seen Hugo Weasley this drunk.

"Excuse me? Could you watch him, just don't let him move, please?" Scorpius asked a house-elf politely. He went through the passageway again after reciting a long, complicated password. He ran into the common room.

Rose Weasley was on the red velvet carpet, crying. Her sobs were quiet and muffled, but Scorpius could still hear them.

"Weasley?" he asked. "What happened?"

Weasley sobbed louder, not bothering to muffle it. She handed him a teardrop-covered letter. He read it:

_Dear Rose,_

_Last night, your father and some other Aurors were questioning Lucius Malfoy. Your father was drunk during the questioning and tackled Lucius Malfoy. You know how he gets when he's drunk. Lucius Malfoy is cursed and your father was the one who got severely injured. He is in St. Mungo's. and he isn't responding to any of the remedies. The Healers don't know if he'll get better. We'll let you know if there any improvements._

_Love,_

_Mum_

Scorpius couldn't believe it. He remembered what Madam Pomfrey said: "_I do not believe Mr. Malfoy had a full body contact with him. If he did, he would be dead now."_ Hugo Weasley must have already heard the news, and that's why he was drunk.

"Weasley," he whispered. "I'm so sorry."

The two sat in silence. The sobs began to cease. At last, Weasley looked up. She opened her mouth to say something, but then burst into tears again. Scorpius sighed, and decided to take action. He was glad he was tall, so he could carry her easily. Scorpius carried Weasley to the couch, where she continued to cry. He sat down next to her and Conjured a glass. "Aguamenti," he muttered and filled the glass with water. Scorpius handed Weasley the glass of water and sat there, feeling awkward and out of place.

"Where's Hugo?" a raspy voice asked. Scorpius was surprised to see that it was Weasley's voice.

"He's drunk in the kitchen," Scorpius replied plainly.

Weasley let out a long, shaky sigh. "Say something, please," she begged.

"What do you want me to say?" asked Scorpius.

"Just distract me," Weasley replied.

"Okay... um, I've never been on a date before. And, er, I love flying but I don't like Quidditch."

"Why not?" Weasley wondered.

"The last time I played Quidditch, I fell and was shown on the cover of The Prophet. They wrote an entire article about how certain genes never pass on, from Draco Malfoy to myself. I was only four years old."

Weasley laughed. Scorpius relaxed a bit. It was always awkward for him to comfort others.

"To Hugo," she said, standing up after another moment of silence. Scorpius entered his dorm, Weasley at his feet, and knocked on the window three times. The passageway only fit one person, so Scorpius climbed in first and Weasley followed after him. The two fell into a hump at the bottom of the tunnel, with Weasley's arms wrapped around Scorpius. She didn't need to wrap her arms around him, this part of the tunnel was wide and had plenty of space.

They were far too close. Scorpius could feel her breath on his neck. She gave him a smile that implied so much, perhaps too much. They were so close they could kiss right then and there, without even having to lean in. but then the tunnel opened and Scorpius tumbled onto the floor.

* * *

-Rose-

* * *

By then, Rose's tears were dry. The tunnel opened, and Malfoy fell on the floor. Rose, being the unlucky one, fell into the lap of a very drunk Hugo Weasley. Rose fell off the couch in disgust. For the second time that day, she was on top of Malfoy.

"Miss Weasley, Mr. Malfoy, how can we help you?" the house-elves chorused. Rose stood up, brushing invisible dirt off of herself. She glanced at Malfoy, who was actually blushing. Why was he blushing?It was just a fall.

"Do you have some hangover remedies?" Rose asked, glancing at the half-asleep Hugo. Hugo's eyes were open, but he still was muttering to himself.

"Right away, miss," a house elf squeaked, and they all ran off to find the hangover remedies.

"Weasley, you okay?" Scorpius asked Rose, looking at her concernedly.

"I'm fine," Rose snapped. She didn't want to be at the mercy of Scorpius Malfoy. He already saw her cry and lose it, and he didn't need to see anymore.

"Is there anything else you need?" the house-elf asked, bringing about five bottles of hangover remedies. Rose shook her head and took the remedies, reading the descriptions carefully.

"Do you need help?" Suddenly Malfoy was next to her, taking the potions out of her hands and examining them as well. His arm brushed her bare skin, and immediately Rose flinched.

"Don't touch me, Malfoy! I don't need you to curse me like your grandpa did to my dad. And don't even bother offering help! Since when have you ever been helpful? The only thing that would help if you could just go join your cursed grandfather!" Rose yelled.

Malfoy's look of concern suddenly transformed into a look of hate and loathe. "I will, thanks," he said, his voice cool and measured. He entered the secret passageway and left.

Rose didn't go after him. She had a task at hand. Rose poured out a cup of each potion and mixed it together, then opened Hugo's mouth and forced him to drink it. Hugo didn't struggle for once, and Rose sat next to him on the couch, the two siblings silent. Rose was lost in thought about what would happen to her father. Was he going to die?

Rose started to imagine a life without her father. But she couldn't, because there was no life without Ronald Weasley.

She remembered Malfoy ending up in the hospital wing because he only brushed Lucius Malfoy's skin. Malfoy! Rose remembered what she had told him, and immediately felt a pang of guilt. She had not meant to yell at him like that.

Rose decided to stay with Hugo, so she could actually think up a plan of saying sorry. This was Scorpius Malfoy, and a snog would not fix it.

* * *

-Scorpius-

* * *

Saturday, September 23, 2023

Dear Journal,

Rose Weasley is a bitch. There. I've said it. Today, she fell into my lap twice. She was about to kiss me. She was leading me on and then -bang!- she yells at me once I brush her arm. Honestly, that slag is crazy.

Today, I had to deal with her tears because her dad ended up in St. Mungo's. He was drunk while questioning my grandpa, and tackled the Dark Dementor. How idiotic, and Rose Weasley just sobs about it FOREVER and blames me for the problem?!

What bothered me most of all was that it felt just like fifth year all over again.

Sincerely,

Scorpius Malfoy

* * *

Scorpius finishes writing and slams the book shut. Ugh, girls were so confusing.

He decided to have a chat with the wise Albus Potter. Albus knew Weasley well and could explain what was happening.

He opened the door, praying Weasley wasn't in the common room. He did not want to talk to that mess. But, the odds were not in his favor, because Weasley was in the common room, sitting on the steps right in front of the door. She was blocking the doorway!

Scorpius decided to get it over with. He took a deep breath and walked right up to Rose Weasley. He tried to slip through, but she stared at him with piercing blue eyes that were impossible to ignore.

"Malfoy, I'm sorry," Weasley said. Never in a million years would Scorpius have expected her to apologize. They had many arguments in sixth year, but there were never apologies."I shouldn't have called you cursed and compared you to your grandfather. I overreacted and was upset about my dad."

The apology was simple, short, and straight to the point. Scorpius was speechless. Should he forgive her? Or should he go to Albus first?

"Step out of the way, Weasley," Scorpius stated calmly. He was neither demanding nor begging. He was simply stating.

But this girl was so goddamn persistent! She stepped closer to Malfoy. Scorpius stepped back. She backed him into a wall, and then Scorpius smirked at her and turned around, running to the doorway and leaving.

"Stupid Slytherin," he could hear Weasley mutter.

* * *

Where on Earth would Albus Potter be at this time? He must have gotten the news about Rose's dad. Scorpius racked his brain, but then remembered it was lunchtime. He entered the Great Hall, where students had just begun to come. He could see the messy raven-black hair and glasses sitting alone at a corner of the Slytherin table. Scorpius sat down next to the boy. Albus didn't seem in bad shape, he just looked slightly upset.

"You alright, mate?" Scorpius asked.

"I'm not terrible," Albus said. "It's just, after what happened to you, I dunno what will happen to Uncle Ron."

"Did he have a drinking problem?" inquired Scorpius.

"Yes, he does, not did. I know he will get better. After all, you did."

Scorpius didn't mention what Madam Pomfrey said. Just a little hope wouldn't harm anyone.

"Did you need something, Scorp?"

Scorpius just let out one sigh, and Albus already guessed it. "You have that face. The face that tells me something happened between you and Rose. A lot of boys have that face, I'm so used to it. I call it the Weasled face."

"You're a genius, Albus," Scorpius said tonelessly.

"Spill."

Scorpius recalled the day's events to Albus, who listened carefully.

"So?" Scorpius asked after a moment of silence.

"First of all, forgive her. Rose rarely apologizes. She must have felt really bad. Second of all, give her some space and let her be miserable. Don't constantly comfort her. The girl hates feeling helpless. Third of all, you guys should try to become friends. You are Head Boy and you'll always have to work with her. Unless... do you fancy her?"

Scorpius rigorously shook his head. He could not possibly fancy that girl. "She led me on in this way that I thought she fancied me."

"I can't believe she would lead you on like that. If she ever does it again, let me know. But for this time, I'm not going to yell at her because you were comforting her, and Rose will do that to every boy eventually. She has no idea the effect she can have."

"So… friends?" Scorpius asked. He felt as if he wasn't just talking about Weasley, but also talking about Albus. Because at that moment, Albus felt like a true friend.

"Friends."

* * *

**And... that's it! Finally, some Scorrose action! And the "she has no idea the effect she can have"... HUNGER GAMES REFERENCE! But in this case, Albus is not in love with Rose, he's just very observant. So, thank you for reading! Keep reviewing. :)**


	7. Chapter 6: Best Mates and Just Friends

**Hi to all my readers! This is chapter 6... and I know it has been over a week! I am SO SORRY. I've had a lot on my plate. This weekend for me is a three-day weekend, so I'll write up some more chapters then too. Thanks Arabella for reminding me to update! **

**Okay, I recently read a Jily fanfic that told their story through writing letters and passing notes. I was inspired to write a chapter consisting of just notes passed. I'll just put the initials before each note so you guys don't get confused. This is on the same day as the last chapter, but it starts after lunchtime. **

**Here we go:**

* * *

Saturday, September 23, 2023

Heads' Common Room

Free Period

* * *

R.W: I'm sorry.

S.M: Resorting to passing notes, are we?

R.W: Well... I'm sorry.

S.M: It's fine.

R.W: Are you sure? 'Cause I feel terrible for yelling at you when you didn't deserve it and-

S.M: Merlin, don't turn into mush, Weasley.

R.W: 'Kay then.

* * *

25 Minutes Later

* * *

R.W: Can I borrow your History of Magic notes?

S.M: Do you honestly think I would write notes for that dreadful class?

R.W: But... how do you pass the tests, then?

S.M: Easy. I memorize the textbook. Besides, since when have you cared about classes, especially History of Magic?

R.W: McGonagall says that if I don't pass all the classes by winter break, she's giving me a tutor.

S.M: And this is a problem because...?

R.W: I _hate _tutors!

S.M: Weird. Weasley, can I ask you something?

R.W: You're already asking, but go on.

S.M: Why did you apologize? You've never apologized before.

R.W: Oh, I- well, you see-

S.M: Are we friends?

R.W: ...

S.M: Weasley?

R.W: Yes, I suppose so.

S.M: Well, time for that History of Magic test.

* * *

History of Magic Class: TEST

* * *

A.P: Scorp, you done yet?

S.M: I've been done for the past half-hour, Albus. I thought I was the only one.

A.P: Nah, Rose finished too.

S.M: How?! Last period, she was asking for my History of Magic notes.

A.P: We're supposed to take notes?!

S.M: ... Anyways, Weasley apologized.

A.P: And you forgave her, I presume?

S.M: Yep.

A.P: You realize she rarely ever apologizes to anyone. Wait, what happened to Operation Friendship?

S.M: Yeah, Weasley and I are friends now.

A.P: You guys are friends, but still call each other by your surnames?

S.M: Right... I'll work on that.

A.P: You do consider her _just _a friend, right?

S.M: Of course!

A.P: And that's why you're blushing?

S.M: Shut it, Potter.

* * *

After Heads' Rounds

In the Heads' Common Room

* * *

R.W: I cannot believe I had to give my own _cousin _detention!

S.M: Well, it's Potter's fault for snogging a little too much. I had to give Albus plenty of detentions in fifth and sixth year because he could not control his hormones. Ugh, Potters.

R.W: But Albus is your _mate! _Lily is my _cousin! _

S.M: Tomay-to, tomah-to.

R.W: But, Malfoy... Lily will never forgive me.

S.M: Isn't it weird that we're friends but we don't call each other by our first names?

R.W: Okay, let me try it. Er... Scorp- wait, how do you spell your name again?

S.M: Are you serious?

R.W: No, that's James, my cousin.

S.M: (That joke is too old.) My name isn't even that hard to spell.

R.W: (Nope, it's eternal.) Is it I-O-S or I-U-S?

S.M: (Merlin, no.) S-C-O-R-P-I-U-S.

R.W: (Merlin, YES.) Scorpius?

S.M: Yes, Roze?

R.W: Oh, shut it. You know how to spell my name.

S.M: Is it with a S or a Z?

R.W: You are so stupid.

S.M: Right back at ya, Rozie.

* * *

Sunday, September 24, 2023

The Great Hall

Breakfast

* * *

S.M: Morning Albus. Ready for Quidditch trials?

A.P: Of course I am! The question is, are you? Will you rebel and cheer for your new _friend_, Rose Weasley, or show house pride and support your best mate, Albus Potter?

Scorp?

Why are you so quiet?

Did I say something?

S.M: You consider me your best mate?

A.P: Of course I do! Why wouldn't I?

S.M: Because I'm a Malfoy and you're a Potter.

A.P: Don't be silly, Scorp. Our dads are best mates, too! Even if they weren't, who cares? I'm already a Slytherin, it doesn't matter anymore.

S.M: Haha, yeah.

A.P: Okay, now the nerves about these trials are kicking in. What if none of the players are good enough? What if no one tries out? What if-

S.M: First of all, you are Albus Potter. You will literally search every little bit of this castle for the perfect player. Second of all, everyone will try out. You are a Potter. Third of all, you should ask me something. It helps.

A.P: 'Kay, er... what does your dad think about my dad?

S.M: Well, he respects him rather deeply. My dad was a coward in those days and never stood up against Voldemort to defend himself and his parents. He hated Voldemort, maybe even more than your dad, and regretted never standing up. But we are Slytherins. We don't have that Gryffindor bravery.

A.P: What do you want to work as after we leave Hogwarts?

S.M: I don't know. I doubt I will get many chances, being a Malfoy, so maybe I'll just open a small shop and sell books or something like that.

A.P: Scorpius, you have the brains and the ambition to do whatever the hell you want. Don't spend your life in a dusty old shop pretending to be happy. Don't you want to settle down with a girl and have kids?

S.M: Who would want to marry me? Besides, I don't need love. Being in a relationship ties you down.

A.P: I'm going to ignore that completely wrong statement for now, but it shall be brought up again later. Anyways, next question: Why were you surprised when I called you my best mate?

S.M: I've always considered myself a loner. But now I realize that I really am not. I'm friends with Weas-I mean Rose, best mates with you, and on terrible terms with the rest of the world. All in all, I've done pretty well for a Malfoy.

A.P: Crap, breakfast is over. C'mon, it's time for trials.

S.M: I'll watch the trials for moral support.

A.P: You won't be just watching it...

* * *

**Slight cliffhanger, and that is it! I'm sorry this chapter is short, but I wanted to post up something before I get to the real action. I also REALLY wanted to write a passing-note chapter. This is just a little filler before the Quidditch trials for Slytherin and Gryffindor, Heads meeting, and a visit to Hogsmeade. **

**Thanks for reading! Review, favorite, follow, rate... bye! **


	8. Quidditch Trials, Flashbacks, New Plans

**Hello again! This update is pretty quick, but I wanted to make up for the short chapter I released before. I was hoping to release TWO chapters this weekend, but of course, plans change.**

**This is Chapter 7: Quidditch Trials, Flashblacks, and Planning**

**So, here we go:**

* * *

-Scorpius-

* * *

Scorpius gulped. Judging by the devious look on his face, this was not good at all.

"What do you mean I'm not going to be only watching?" Scorpius asked slowly.

"I mean that you've been signed up to try out!" Albus exclaimed.

Scorpius's mouth dropped open. His eyes popped out. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

"Rose told me you love to fly," Albus continued. "And you shouldn't let one Daily Prophet article at four years old prevent you from playing Quidditch! She signed you up," Albus continued, oblivious to Scorpius's face beginning to turn green.

"Is she even allowed to do that?" Scorpius managed to say.

Albus grinned, nodding his head. "Of course! Nominations are always welcome, and even if it wasn't, I would break the rules so Rose could sign you up."

"I think I'm going to puke," Scorpius mumbled.

Albus patted his back. "Don't worry, you'll do amazing. Just ignore the fact that pretty much the entire school is watching you, and you'll be fine."

Scorpius choked on the orange juice he was drinking, and his eyes began to water.

Albus once again patted Scorpius's back, handed him a tissue, and forced Scorpius out of the seat. As they walked toward the stadium, they bumped into Rose.

* * *

-Rose-

* * *

"Hey guys!" Rose greeted Albus and Mal-Scorpius.

Scorpius was shooting daggers at her while Albus looked absolutely positively cheerful. "We're heading to trials, you coming?" Albus asked.

"Wait a second, I thought you were the one who was nervous," Rose teased, laughing.

"Nope, Scorp helped me out. And now he's a wreck," Albus replied.

Rose glanced at Scorpius. He did look rather green. "You will do amazing," Rose promised him. "Why else would I have signed you up?"

Scorpius just sighed and Rose began to fall in step with them as they strolled toward the pitch. Rose was watching the game as a "supportive cousin", but she was also assessing the team and trying to figure out how to beat them. She also really wanted to see Scorpius fly. He had the perfect build for a Quidditch player, and Rose had signed him up to strengthen their friendship. She was also rather curious about how Scorpius would fly.

At the pitch, Rose sat down next to Lily and Hugo. They, too, were "supportive cousins."

"What is Malfoy doing on the field?" Lily asked, squinting at the figure covered in green and silver.

"I signed him up," Rose explained. "Apparently, he loves to fly but is scared of the idea of Quidditch."

"Why is everyone so loud?" Hugo moaned. He was still not over his hangover.

"Okay, it's not our fault you drank way too much yesterday," Rose muttered. Even though she was still worried about her dad, she was confident he would recover quickly. Scorpius only spent one night in the hospital wing when touching Lucius Malfoy.

Hugo put his head in his hand and groaned louder. Lily rolled her eyes at her hungover cousin. "Didn't the remedies help?" she wondered.

"They were all temporary." Rose pointed at the figure climbing onto a broom. "Look, Scorpius is going first."

* * *

-Scorpius-

* * *

Scorpius immediately felt a sense of comfort as he climbed onto the broom. The broom buzzed happily, and Scorpius began to feel at ease. He was on a broom. He was on what he loved. Everything would be okay.

Then, he glanced at the crowd filling up the pitch and gulped.

See, Scorpius's problem wasn't that he didn't know how to play Quidditch. The problem was that he didn't play Quidditch in front of so many people. And messing up was simply not an option.

Scorpius could see Rose waving at him, and began to feel more confident. She wouldn't have signed him up if he was terrible, right?

"Rose never mentioned what you're playing as," Albus yelled, running up to Scorpius.

Scorpius thought carefully. Out of all the roles in Quidditch, he probably knew Chaser the best, he tells Albus.

The trials begin. Out of the twenty groups assembled, only eight groups were Slytherins. The other twelve were kicked off the pitch and exiled to watching in a dusty, area of the stands full of spiderwebs. For the trials, two groups played a game of Quidditch, and the winners of these games played against each other.

Scorpius's group consisted of new sixth and seventh years trying out, playing against the Slytherin team last year with only one new addition to make up for Seeker. He somehow managed to make all the goals and his team one.

The rounds continued, until Scorpius's group and a group of third and fourth years were the last ones left.

Scorpius grew confident in his abilities, perhaps too confident. As he prepared to make another goal, something hit his face hard.

Blackness.

Again.

* * *

-Rose-

* * *

Rose could not believe how well Scorpius was playing. As she and her cousins watched Scorpius make another goal, Rose muttered, "We need prodigies if we want to win this year."

Even Hugo, in his hungover state, could tell how well Scorpius was playing. "He's a natural," Hugo nearly exclaimed, his bloodshot eyes ready to pop.

As the crowd prepared for Scorpius to make another goal, something changed. He turned around, grinning, the smile still on his face as the bludger hit his face hard.

Rose screamed as Scorpius dropped to the ground.

Again.

Running down to the field, with Lily and Hugo at her feet, they reached the field.

"What happened?" Rose asked, glancing at Scorpius's face. On it were two black eyes.

"Just two black eyes," Albus said, his voice staying calm and professional. "We'll take him to the hospital wing to see if Madam Pomfrey could make it heal faster."

"I'll come with you," Rose said immediately, and Albus didn't argue.

"Please go back to your common rooms. Results will be posted tomorrow evening," Albus announced, and the crowd silently makes way for the trio.

* * *

"So, what did you think of the trials?" Rose asked. She and Albus sat next to each other, on one side of Scorpius's bed in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey had announced that he was unconscious and when he wakes up, he'll have a quick remedy and will be just fine.

"Scorpius was stunning," Albus says. "He got every goal except for one. I don't know how you'll beat that, Rose."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Please, Albus. The reason why Gryffindor wins every year is right here."

"Your lack of modesty is so very attractive, Weasley," Albus replies mockingly.

"Shut it, Potter."

There was a moan from Scorpius's bed, and the two glanced at him. "Shh, Albus," Rose whispered. A silence formed, and the two waited for Scorpius to make another sound again.

"Rose?" Scorpius asked. His eyes opened, and Rose could not believe how puffy and black they were.

Albus yelled out, "Madam Pomfrey! He's awake!"

The old nurse rushed over. The war certainly had taken quite a toll on her. Her shoulders were hunched and bent over, her face drooping down, as if trying to carry the baggage of wrinkles that covered her face.

With a few waves of her wand, Scorpius's face became brighter, his black eyes fainter.

"You're fine now, Mr. Malfoy. Off you go," Madam Pomfrey announced. Despite her old age, she still was the healing professional.

Rose and Albus helped Scorpius up, and the threesome walked out the door.

* * *

-Scorpius-

* * *

Secretly, Scorpius was glad he had been injured. It shows that he was incapable of playing, and therefore, cannot be on the Quidditch team. But as he walked out the doors of the hospital wing, the conversation that began was not to his liking at all:

"Scorpius, you played brilliantly!" cheered Albus.

"I knew putting you on the list wasn't a mistake," beamed Rose.

"Well, Rosie, I don't know how you will win at all this year."

"Trust me, Potter, I will be the founder of the Golden Gryffindor Team. Perhaps Scorpius may be good, but nobody said the rest of the players are."

"Good? Woman, he's better than good! He's a fucking prodigy!"

"Well, you still need a Seeker that's a prodigy. Don't forget how important Seekers are."

"Weasley, are you trying to teach ME, Albus Severus Potter, how to play Quidditch?"

"Yes, and I'm putting these classes on your check."

"Why, you little-"

Scorpius clamped his hand over the two mouths. The cousins didn't realize where they were going and were surprised to find themselves on the seventh floor, in front of the Room of Requirement.

He grabbed their hands and dragged them into the Room unceremoniously.

"Scorp, why are we here?" Albus asked, looking at the plush Victorian-styled room.

"Well, I needed to find a book, and you two ended up here with me," Scorpius explained.

"Go on, find your book," said Rose. "I suppose you also needed us to shut up, so we'll both do that."

Scorpius grinned from ear to ear. Merlin, Rose was so good at this, so understanding, so-

He shook his head, not ready to go there, as he searched the bookshelves for his book: The Deepest of the Darks: Dark Dementors, Dark Marks, and More. He HAD to know more about his grandfather's case. His dad specifically told him to find this book and send him a copy, after Scorpius sent a letter explaining what happened to Mr. Weasley and to him.

"Okay, we're done," Scorpius announced, hiding the book in his jacket.

"What's the book?" Rose wondered, glancing at Scorpius's empty hands.

"Nothing," he snapped.

They left the room and the threesome divided: Scorpius and Rose to their common room, and Albus to his common room.

* * *

-Rose-

* * *

"So, what's the book?" Rose asked for about the millionth time on their long walk to the common room. If he just answered the bloody question, she wouldn't need to ask it so many times.

"Merlin, woman! Give up, I'm not telling you," Scorpius repeated. It began to sound like he was reciting it from heart.

"You know we live together..." Rose trailed off, smirking at Scorpius's red face.

Scorpius scowled. "It's a book about Dark Dementors. My dad told me to find it so he could pass the information to Mr. Potter and the other Aurors.

"Oh." There was a moment of silence as they turned the corner.

Rose decided to change the subject to more lighter topics. "Are you coming on Wednesday for Gryffindor Quidditch trials?"

Scorpius brushed his hands through his hair, looking awkward. "Er... do you want me to come?"

"Of course!" exclaimed Rose. "I came to yours, you have to come to mine. Although this time, you won't be forced to tryout."

Scorpius grinned, his face lighting up. Rose smiled as well. These days, the boy began to smile more and more. "Well then," he said. "I'll be there."

"Password?" interrupted a snarky voice. It was the Black Hatter. He was rather rude, only opening the door to students if you say it in the most polite tone, on your knees, begging, and saying "please."

"Open books, if you will, sir," Rose replied politely, her head bowed down a little.

"Please, sir," added Scorpius, falling to his knees.

Satisfied, the Black Hatter swung open the door. Gratefully, the two ran inside.

They rolled their eyes at each other. "Your acting skills are better," Scorpius noted.

"Did you see yourself? Falling to your knees like that! Brilliant," complimented Rose.

Once again, Scorpius blushed.

_Well,_ Rose thought, _blushing at every compliment is better than glaring at me. It's a start._

It certainly was.

* * *

-Scorpius-

* * *

Monday, September 25, 2023

Dear Journal,

Sorry I haven't written here lately. Here's some quick updates:

I've become friends with the Weasel. Rose is my friend now. Strange, isn't it?

Albus Potter is officially my best mate.

Rose signed me up for Quidditch trials, so I was forced to go. I'm scared I might be accepted.

The Dark Dementor... found a copy, will send to Dad.

I suppose that's all.

Sincerely,

Scorpius Malfoy

* * *

Scorpius put his quill down. He was doing his best to make it NOT a repeat of fifth year, but it was too late.

Scorpius cringed as memories of fifth year came raining down upon him:

_He could not look Weasley in the eye. Her face, so perfect and so bright. Her eyes, sparkling in the moonlight. Her dress, flowing and fitting her, showing off all the right curves. Her._

_He could not look at her without turning a bright red. No one had noticed, however. The two had a quite a rocky relationship. There were the occasional rows, but mostly daily insults and looks of hate._

_He supposed he was a good actor. Covering all his feelings for her with just one glare. It was so easy. Not even Albus, the observant one, noticed how Scorpius how. Perhaps, he did notice, but most likely didn't mention it for the sake of Scorpius._

_And the way she looked at him... Scorpius secretly hoped her face was a mask. That, she too, fancied him but was a brilliant actress. But hoping got him nowhere. And neither did smiling, or happiness._

_He was sitting down in the Slytherin common room. He had skipped dinner, hoping to squeeze in some extra last-minute studying for his Transfiguration O.W.L.S. Transfiguration was the subject he did the worst in._

_The common room, however, was empty. It was 7:00 PM and usually quite busy at this time. Scorpius did not mind the emptiness of the common room, and wasn't bothered at all. Studying was his top priority._

_There was a splash, and he felt all of a sudden quite sticky. His eyes were the only things not blinded, and he glanced to see himself covered in what looked like a puke-colored paint mixed with hot pink glitter. Horrified, he glanced up to see Rose Weasley giggling. At him. Weasley! How did she even get in here?_

_They met eyes, and Scorpius was too disgusted by the paint to even blush. "Enjoy, Malfoy!" she yelled, snickering. Scorpius hoped this was a joke, that she really was covering up her feelings._

_But he could tell that her eyes had a depth, a depth of hate. She smirked at his helpless form at the bottom, and snapped her finger. Only on him did two thousand Chocolate-Covered Blisters fall. The blisters burned into his skin, and he screamed in agony. It was never ending, as the blisters formed holes in his skin and-_

Scorpius shook his head quickly. He could not and would not let Rose Weasley take his heart and break it again. He would not keep the memories of fifth year in his mind. He would be her friend, for the sake of living together, but nothing more. Because if he let it become more, she would come too close.

And the closer she came to making him fancy her again, the closer she was to breaking his heart.

Again.

There was a knock on the door, and Scorpius jumped.

Rose opened the door and saw Scorpius sitting on the bed, a single tear oozing down his face.

"Scorpius? Are you okay?" Rose asked.

He put a smile on his face and lied, "I got a bit of dust in my eye, that's all."

Rose, in all her "innocence" and perk, nodded, accepting the lie. "Gosh, I hate when that happens. One time, I- wait, that's not why I'm here. I was hoping you could explain the Transfiguration homework to me. I can't figure out what the last three principles of becoming an Animagus are."

"Rose, Transfiguration is my worst subject," Scorpius whined.

"Scorpius, you don't have a worst subject," Rose repeated in the same tone.

He allowed himself a quiet laugh, a tinkle to cover up the darkness of the room.

Rose looked surprised for a second, but then smiled genuinely. She grabbed Scorpius's hand. "Come on, don't deny your intelligence. Help me out."

Scorpius sighed, and gently pulled his hand away from Rose's. They sat down at the table, and Scorpius began taking his mind off the past and zoomed into the present.

* * *

-Rose-

* * *

September 26, 2023

I'm so nervous! The trials are tomorrow and only two pages of people signed. Usually, it's five pages, and Lily is on our team! But I suppose the famous Slytherin Potter would take away anyone who attempted to sign up. Having our team's trials before his is the best way to go, but this year I screwed up. I feel bad about it.

I really do hope we find a prodigy like Scorpius. Did I mention? We became friends, and are now on first-name- terms. I'll tell you later how THAT happened. It's really strange, though. Ever since we were babies, we could not get along. We're just complete opposites, that friendship is hard to achieve.

I think Scorpius's depression has gotten better. He smiles more and even laughed a little yesterday! I know it's not my problem, but I guess now that we're friends, I'll help. He can tell me about his depression when he thinks its alright, and I'll pretend I don't know. That's what friends do, right? Right?

* * *

-Scorpius-

* * *

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Dear Journal,

Nothing much has happened this week. I've just realized, though, that Rose helps me with my depression so much! She probably doesn't even realize it herself, but she is very cheerful and a great asset. She makes me happy. As a friend, of course.

Anyways, I have to head down to trials now. Rose is a nervous wreck, and I promised to go to support her.

Sincerely,

Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy

* * *

Scorpius entered the pitch just as Rose looked like she was going to lose it. Her hair had frizzed up and her face had wrinkles never seen before.

"Rose! You okay?" he asked, glancing at her. She looked almost broken.

"She's stressed, that's all," explained Potter. She gave Scorpius almost a quizzical look. Weasley, on the other hand, glared at him. _Don't try to be an overprotective little brother, Weasley,_ thought Scorpius. _Nothing is going on between us._

Rose burst into tears. Scorpius raised his eyebrows, wondering how many times he would have to comfort her. He glanced at Potter, his eyes begging her to comfort Rose, not him, but the little Potter smirked and shook her head.

"How about you help her, Scorpius? I'll work with Hugo to start trials, okay?" she suggested. Scorpius glared at her as Rose fell into his arms, her sobs muffled by his sweater.

Weasley also glared at Potter, but Potter shook her head and Scorpius knew she wouldn't change her mind. Scorpius sighed and dragged Rose gently to the shed where the old school broomsticks were.

"Seriously, why are you crying?" Scorpius asked, dropping Rose into a seat across from him in the shed. "Rose, I'm starting to feel like I'm made to stop your tears."

Rose just shook her head and glanced up, the tears dry on her face.

"I was crying because I was stressed about trials and I just failed my Transfiguration test. Professor Brown lectured me for over an hour," Rose explained. "Merlin, I've made a fool out of myself!"

Scorpius shrugged. "Don't worry, I do it everyday."

Rose giggled. "Don't we all know that."

"Rose, you should go out and head your trials. Honestly, I don't know how you stopped crying so fast this time when last time I thought the common room would flood."

"This time, there wasn't much to cry about. Last time..."

There was an awkward silence. At last, Scorpius spoke. "Let's go."

Scorpius left the shed, sitting on one of the stands to watch trials. Rose walked out on the field, confident as if she hadn't broken down only five minutes ago. _That's Rose Weasley for you,_ Scorpius thought. _Always changing._ Another thought struck him, but he shook his head violently. No. He could not think like that...

* * *

-Rose-

* * *

September 24, 2023

Gryffindor trials was... interesting. The last few days have been crazy. I've headed about five detentions, and did extra credit for Transfiguration. Usually, I hate tutoring, but Scorpius makes it fun.

At trials, I broke down. But in the end, I think I've found the perfect team. I just don't know if it can beat the Slytherins.

Wait, it's 3:30! I have a meeting with McGonagall in 30 minutes. I have to get Scorpius, bye!

* * *

Rose dropped her quill and raced out the door.

"Scorpius!" she called out. He was already there, staring at the bulletin board, his mouth dropped open.

Rose came up next to him and glanced at the bulletin board. On it, in green ink, was Albus Potter's handwriting. And it said:

_SLYTHERIN QUIDDITCH TEAM: RESULTS OF TRIALS_

_Captain: Albus Severus Potter_

_Seeker- Albus Severus Potter_

_Keeper- James Dean_

_Beater 1- Marcus Higgins_

_Beater 2- Vincent Perseus_

_Chaser 1- Samuel Goyle_

_Chaser 2- Robert Zabini_

_Chaser 3- Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy_

Rose squealed. "Aren't you happy? You're on the Quidditch team."

Scorpius groaned. "I didn't want to be on the team..."

She glanced at his face. "You can always say no, if you want."

Scorpius just sighed loudly. "I'll think about it."

"Okay, well on a completely unrelated note, we have a meeting with McGonagall in... five minutes."

The two shrieked at the same time. "Accio quill and parchment," muttered Rose. She wanted to take notes. The Head Boy and Girl raced out the door as Rose finger-brushed her hair, Scorpius practiced smiling, and they both walked quickly, but not running, through the halls.

"What's the password?" whispered Rose.

"Keep out," guessed Scorpius, and they nearly fainted out of shock when the gargoyles opened the door.

* * *

-Scorpius-

* * *

"Excellent, Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Weasley, you are right on time," congratulated McGonagall. The breathless teens nodded and sat down in the cushioned chairs.

"Let's get right to business, shall we?" McGonagall began. She handed Scorpius and Rose each a lemon drop, which they obediently sucked on quietly.

"And no need to take notes, Ms. Weasley. Simply listen, and I will also give you more papers regarding this matter when we are done. Please, do not interrupt." McGonagall took a deep breath and began:

"As Head Boy and Girl, it is also your responsibility to plan the festivities for Halloween. I strongly suggest that you begin booking bands and such now, as Halloween is a busy time for wizards, and the sooner we book, the more we will get. As usual, we shall have a Halloween feast. You two must work together to plan an age-appropriate event for the students right after the feast. This is a project you can ask the Prefects to help you with, however recent times have shown us that if only the two of you work on it, the outcome is much better. We have had balls and dances before, so I suggest that you two have a more original idea. This event may last up to midnight, so it is best to manage what events you want. Any ideas you have must be something you both agree on, and must be carefully planned out before you hand it over to me to approve. Our budget is five hundred Galleons. Should you need to go over that budget, please explain to me why. Any purchases made must also go through me. Any questions?"

They were silent.

"Very well, then. You may go."

Scorpius and Rose walked down the staircase. As soon as they reached their common room, Rose began to chat excitedly.

"Oh, Scorpius! An event that WE get to plan, for Halloween, my favorite! I have so many ideas, and-"

Scorpius quickly interrupted her before she got too excited. "Rose, just write down all your ideas. How about we meet tomorrow to talk more about it?"

"How about we meet now?" Rose countered. "I mean, we both have the time now. C'mon, I actually have only three ideas. You go first."

Scorpius sat down and thought for a moment. "I was thinking we could make a haunted house for the students to tour through. We could have events at the haunted house and even let the ghosts come and haunt it."

"Well, here are my three ideas," began Rose. "One: We have a Halloween Ball. In this ball, however, everyone must have a costume. But the twist is that everyone must have a date, everyone will pick their own costumes out of a list we make and put into a hat, and everyone must take whatever costume they have, scary or not, and turn it into something absolutely creepy for Halloween. So, if you were a bunny, you would have to turn into a creepy serial killer bunny. Two: We tour through the Forbidden Forest after the feast with Hagrid, and no wands allowed. Three: We could have a school dance, but everyone has to dress up in Muggle costumes and there are no wands allowed."

Scorpius shook his head. There were too many flaws. "Your first idea is good, but the second idea is deadly. And the third idea isn't fair to a lot of kids, especially the purebloods who don't understand Muggle customs at all."

"Well, I liked your idea, Scorpius. How about we combine our ideas?"

Scorpius's gears in his brain were turning. "Let's have a Halloween Ball after the feast for the entire night. Those who want to go may tour the haunted house. We can reach our budget if we turn the first and second floors of Hogwarts into a haunted house, so we don't have to build a new one. That way, the ghosts can also haunt it much more freely. And even better, we can give prizes to those who complete the challenges of the haunted house."

Rose's eyes widened. "Scorpius, you are brilliant." In her excitement, she hugged him tightly and pecked his cheek. Well, that never happened in fifth year.

Strange.

* * *

**And... that's a wrap! This is a much longer chapter, I hope. I know, strange way to end but I didn't know how else to end the chapter without a Scorrose moment. I shall see you all this upcoming weekend. Enjoy! Please favorite, follow, and review! Thanks again for everyone who has already done that. Bye!**


	9. Deliberate Planning, Concerned Friends

**Hello people! Here is another weekly update. This chapter is a pre-chapter to the events at Hogsmeade.**

**I apologize in advance for the lack of many Scorrose moments, but I wanted to focus more on other relationships. :) Here we go:**

* * *

-Rose-

* * *

October 1, 2023

Hey October! I can't believe it's only been a month of school. The time flies by so fast...

This month, Scorpius and I will have to plan events for the Halloween feast. I'm so excited about it! We have a pretty good budget, but I've learned the hard way that things tend to pile up and total to much more than you think. I've thought hard, and I think I really have found the perfect Gryffindor Quidditch team. Right, I'll go post that up now.

* * *

_GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH TEAM: RESULTS OF TRIALS_

_Captain: Rose Weasley_

_Seeker: Lily Luna Potter_

_Keeper: Rose Weasley_

_Beater 1: Hugo Weasley_

_Beater 2: Nicole Rivers_

_Chaser 1: Emmeline Finnigan_

_Chaser 2: Maximus Creevey_

_Chaser 3: Anthony Hemmington_

* * *

"Why am I not surprised to see you working?" wondered Rose aloud.

"Well, Rosie, you may have started caring about school, but I still shall beat you in every class," replied Scorpius.

"You know, I think you've just motivated me to do work. The reward? Beating you, and seeing the look on your face when I get an O and you get an E," announced Rose, smirking. "Anyways, that's not what I'm here for. We should add up the prices for the Halloween event to see if we go over the budget."

"Okay, list something," Scorpius said, putting his book down. He looked at her expectantly. Rose thought quickly and began.

"For music, we can book the Weird Sisters for 100 Galleons, and the Creepers for another 100. This is 200 galleons for the entire night."

"The food will be made by house-elves, so no money there."

"Costumes: students must make them on their own."

"Decorations: 25 galleons for a dance floor creepy decor, and a stage."

"Haunted house: another 75 galleons for the challenges, decorations, and plenty of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes merchandise. I can get it cheaper from George, but it still will cost quite a lot."

"Prizes: 25 galleons to buy decent prizes for winners of the haunted house challenges. Also, we could have a competition for best costume, so we'll need a prize for that."

"Now, we have 75 galleons left. This is perfect if we need it for emergencies, and what we buy costs more than we expected."

Rose paused and glanced up at Scorpius. He looked slightly uncomfortable.

"Er, Rose, do we have to have a date for the Halloween Ball?" he asked.

Rose took a bit of pity on him, but then thought about his words and realized how pathetic it sounded. "Scorpius, you will find a date by then. Don't be ridiculous."

Scorpius just looked down, not showing Rose his face.

* * *

-Scorpius-

* * *

It was Monday afternoon, in Potions. Scorpius and Rose were required to sit next to each other, as Head Boy and Head Girl. Neither of them minded this, but Rose wished she could sit with Longbottom, and Scorpius wished he could sit with Albus.

"Alright, students, today you will brew an Alihotsy Draught. Who can tell me what an Alihotsy Draught is?" Professor Marlin asked.

Rose raises her hand hesitantly. "An Alihotsy Draught causes hysteria by inhaling the fumes."

"Correct, Ms. Weasley. Five points to Gryffindor! As Ms. Weasley just said, if the fumes are inhaled, there is extreme hysteria. Instructions are on the board. Please put on the masks next to your cauldrons. You have 90 minutes. Begin."

Scorpius and Rose get to work, and the potion was perhaps the most tedious to brew. Thirty minutes into brewing, Scorpius began wishing for something, _anything, _interesting to happen.

And it did.

* * *

-Rose-

* * *

Rose could not believe it when Grazie walked up to Scorpius and her thirty minutes into brewing. Honestly, what did that bitch want now? Rose loathed Grazie more and more as the weeks went by. She was always with Emmeline and Nicole. Samantha seemed to be the only one who understood how Rose felt, and she didn't like Grazie either.

"Why hello, Scorpius," Grazie purred. Since when did she even have the right to call him by his first name?

Scorpius looked up, his mouth slightly open as he stared at Grazie's overexposed body. It was nasty how much of a slut Grazie was, and on purpose! Ugh.

"Um...hi? Can I... help you?" he replied. Rose smiles slightly at his confusion. Only Scorpius would feel awkward in a situation like this.

"Yes, you can. So Hogsmeade is coming up this Saturday, and I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date with me then." Grazie flipped her hair and batted her eyelashes at Scorpius.

_Merlin, _Rose thought, _He cannot honestly be falling for that whore. She's the real fuckgirl, not me._

Scorpius stammers, and Rose's stomach begin to churn strangely. Was she... no, she couldn't think like that. Rose was concerned for her friend and didn't want to see him getting hurt by her worst enemy. That was all there was to it.

"Sure," he replied smoothly, all of a sudden looking confident.

Rose sighed, remembering that this would be his first date. And she did NOT want it to be with a fuckgirl.

* * *

-Scorpius-

* * *

Scorpius heart melted and he began to feel slightly dizzy as Grazie walked away. Damnit, she was beautiful. And she just asked HIM out. Him, Scorpius Malfoy! Scorpius felt like he was floating.

He was immediately brought back to Earth by Rose's elephant stamp on his foot. She looked like she was on fire, with her flaming red cheeks and hair.

"What's wrong?" he asked, confused.

"What's wrong is that you just daydreamed for five minutes while I barely managed to brew this potion," she hissed.

Scorpius immediately brought his hands to his ears, bowing down. "Sorry, sorry," he apologized.

Rose's face immediately softened and she looked more like her beautiful natural self. "It's fine," she said stiffly. "Now put those dried mosquitoes in there, won't you?"

Scorpius felt that there was something he was missing out on as the two continued to brew their potion. Something was up with Rose, and it was quite strange.

* * *

-Rose-

* * *

"Your reaction was priceless," Albus told Rose as he fell into step beside her, walking to the Great Hall.

"What reaction?" Rose asked dumbly.

"You know, when Grazie asked Scorpius out."

Rose immediately turned red with anger as she recalled the memory.

"Hey, calm down, will you? It seems like you're a bit jealous, in my opinion," Albus smirked.

"I AM NOT!" Rose shrieked, and several students stared at her. Rose lowered her voice and hissed in Albus's ear, "I am not."

Albus whispers back, "Prove it."

Prove it? Oh, Rose would do more than that. She already had a plan in her head by the time she left the Great Hall.

* * *

Rose missed the Gryffindor tower. She hadn't gone to her old dormitories because Grazie was always there. She didn't see Hugo as often, only at Quidditch practice. So, Rose decided to do Part 1 of her brilliant plan and visit her dear baby brother.

Ignoring the stares that went her way due to her outburst earlier, Rose ran up the steps to the boys' dormitory.

"Hugo?" she called out. On his bed, Hugo lay still, perhaps taking a nap. "Hugo, wake up, we need to talk."

"I'm awake, you twit. I was hoping you would think I'm dead and have a panic attack," Hugo answers, sitting up.

"We need to talk," Rose repeated. Glancing at Hugo's companions, whom were all staring at the siblings with wide eyes and open ears, she added, "Alone." Rose grabbed Hugo's wrist and ignored his protests, using all her strength to drag the boy outside. He had gotten some muscle, and was quite heavy. But Rose persisted, at last letting him go when they reached a closed-off alcove.

"Rose, you nasty, nasty girl," Hugo said, shaking his head. "We're siblings, and you must resist your temptations, despite my attractive looks."

Rose whacked Hugo on the head. "This isn't the time, Hugo! I need to know when are you going to tell."

"Tell what?" Hugo asked innocently.

"Frances Midgen," Rose said, and Hugo's eyes widened.

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes!"

"NO!"

"YES!"

"YES!"

"NO!" Rose gasped and put her hands over her mouth, glaring at Hugo as he snickered.

Rose's face turned serious. "Hugo, I'll find out for you. Just let me do this one thing for you... please?"

Hugo sighed in defeat. "Fine. But you can't lie, I want a truthful answer, no matter how much it hurts."

Rose's face lit up, and she nearly squeezed Hugo to death. "You won't regret this, I promise! I'm always right, aren't I?"

"One word: Ew," Hugo mumbles, grimacing as Rose hugged him even tighter.

* * *

Finding Midgen and asking him to Hogsmeade was easy. He was walking down the corridors alone when Rose passed him a note and winked at him. She was rather good at charming the boy.

The note said: _Meet me on the seventh floor, in front of the painting of Delia the Damsel tonight at 7. ~Rose_

Yes, she would get him to go on a date with her to Hogsmeade. She had five days to put him under the spell. But judging by the situation, Rose knew it would only take him one night.

* * *

"What are you planning? If it's a prank, I'm in," Albus asked. Albus and Rose were in Herbology, where they were writing down notes about their Mimbulus Mimbletonia.

"It's not a prank," Rose replies, not meeting his eye. He didn't know about Hugo's problem, and Rose never wanted to tell him. Some things had to be just between the siblings.

"Ah, in for another fuckgirl night, are we?"

Rose turns slightly red and bowed her head down low, so he can't see her blushing cheeks indicating he was right.

"Just whatever you do, use protection," added Albus. Rose snaps her head up and glared at him, smacking him extremely hard with the textbook they were studying from.

Even though Gryffindor lost ten points for "violence in a greenhouse", Rose thought it was definitely worth it.

* * *

After eating at the Great Hall, Rose dropped off her books in her dorm and prepared to leave again. She took her time going to the seventh floor, knowing that Midgen was desperate enough to wait for hours for Rose.

In front of the painting of Delia the Damsel was Frances Midgen, pacing around. "Did you-" he began to say, but Rose clamped her hand over his mouth and took him to the alcove right next to the painting.

As he opened his mouth again, she snogged him hard. Rose felt nothing for this boy, but simply was helping out her brother.

She lets go of him to catch her breath, and he gasped, "Why-"

Rose interrupted him with another kiss. She puts her hands around his waist and brings him closer so that she is pressed up against him. She runs her fingers through his hair, and then Midgen stops and pulls back as she tried to kiss him on the neck.

"What do you want from me, Weasley?" he demanded. Damnit, this boy was smart.

Rose sits down on his lap, and glances up at the sixth-year Ravenclaw. "I like you," she whispered into his ear, and this time he does not push away when she kisses him on his neck. "Hogsmeade?" she murmured into his ear.

"Of course," he replied, his voice wavering a bit. Rose grinned and she knew, but she had to make sure of it first.

"I'll see you later," she muttered, and left the alcove, satisfied that Part 2 was done.

* * *

When Rose entered the common room after leaving Midgen, she sees Scorpius pacing back and forth, looking dazed.

"What's up?" she asked. Scorpius doesn't reply, and Rose yells, "SCORPIUS!"

Scorpius shooks his head roughly, coming back to Earth. "What?" he asked cluelessly.

"You've been doing that all day," Rose pointed out. It was true. All day, Scorpius had zoomed out. "What do you keep thinking about?"

"My first date with Grazie," he whispered, his face turning even paler than usual.

"Yeah, about that," Rose paused, wondering how to say this. "Just... be careful, all right? I know what girls like Grazie do, and I don't want you get hurt."

"Why are you so concerned about my date?" Scorpius asked. "Grazie isn't like that, I can tell. She's different."

"You mean she's beautiful," Rose mutters under her breath. She repeats louder, "I just don't want you to get hurt."

Scorpius puts his hand on Rose's arm. "Thanks for the concern," he said lightly, "but I don't need you handling my dating life."

Rose exploded and shook off Scorpius's hand. "What dating life? THIS IS YOUR FIRST DATE, SCORPIUS! AND SHE'S GOING TO ABUSE THAT!" Rose yelled.

Scorpius looked irritated. "You don't have to take care of me!" He hollers back.

"I'M LOOKING OUT FOR YOU AS A FRIEND!"

"Really? Because it seems like you're more than an overly-concerned friend."

At that, Rose was silent. Glaring at Scorpius one last time, she stormed to her room. And just before she turned the handle, she turned around and said quietly, "When you get hurt, don't come crying to me. I won't be there." With that, Rose turned the handle and slammed the door shut.

* * *

**Okay, that was a ... chapter. No, there is no such thing as Rose and Midgen and I haven't all of a sudden hated Scorrose. This is just... well, you'll see. The next chapter is about Hogsmeade, but I decided to divide it up. Plus, I wanted to get this chapter up. Anyways, review, favorite, follow, and write in the review what you think Hugo's secret is. Bye!**


	10. Hogsmeade Dates: The Truth Is

**This chapter is called Hogsmeade Dates: The Truth Is. The first part, Hogsmeade Dates, obviously isn't a song, but The Truth Is is a song by Liam Horne. I suggest listening to the song so you'll understand my reasons for choosing that song. **

**This is the official Hogsmeade chapter. I've realize that this is chapter 9 and the characters are still in October! Don't worry, though. There is only two more chapters left to write in October, a chapter in November, and then we get to the real fun.**

**This is just a quick reply to one reviewer, Evallark: I hate Harmione, too! But I do ship Scorrose, Dramione, AND Romione. I know it's quite strange. Of course, I won't kill Ron off. But I'll let you in on a little secret: When I'm nearly done with this story, I plan to write a Dramione prequel called "What Happened in Seventh Year." Also, I would NEVER stop writing. And I love Scorpius's character too. He's exactly the opposite of what other Scorrose stories show him as.**

**I've just written a Jily one-shot called Trouble, so head over there once you're done with this chapter. :)**

**Sorry this is a long author's note, but before we start, thank you guys so, so, SO much for reviewing and following this story. After I posted the last chapter, I got more reviews than usual. This made me so happy! Keep reviewing, guys. And here we go:**

* * *

-Scorpius-

* * *

October 7, 2023

Dear Journal,

Rose was insanely jealous earlier this week when Grazie asked me out. We had a bit of a row, but now we're just not talking. I don't know why she is so bothered about it. My first date is today, but I'm too stressed and I'm hoping writing will clear my mind. I've never gone on a date, and not with a girl as great as Grazie. I can't keep being mad at Rose, because she's the only one who can help me in this situation. I should go get ready and apologize... well, bye then.

Sincerely,

Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy

* * *

Scorpius did not think he was ready to apologize to Rose and get her to help him. After all, he wasn't the one that needed to apologize. But he sighed, knowing Rose was stubborn, so he knocked on her door.

There was no reply. Scorpius just burst into the door and began to speak. "Rose, I really need your help. This is my first date and I know you don't trust Grazie, but this is still my first date and you're the only one who can help me."

There, short and quick.

Scorpius glanced at Rose and his mouth literally dropped open. She was wearing dark red short shorts with a white top and black leather jacket. She looked... well, _hot. _

* * *

**-**Rose-

* * *

Rose felt irritated as Scorpius asked for help. Why should she help him go on a date with a _slut? _But Rose thought, _Do this for him, not her. _She then noticed Scorpius goggling her. _  
_

"Fine," she said shortly. "What do you need help with?"

Scorpius immediately looked relieved. "I could just kiss you right now, Rose!" Rose simply replied by raising one eyebrow at him. She had not forgiven him, and most likely would not until

"I mean, can you help me with what I should wear? Also, I need to know how I should act."

Rose just sighed and entered Scorpius's dorm. She said, not even looking over her shoulder, "Just so you know, I still think you're making the wrong choice." She paused, and grabbed an outfit from Scorpius's wardrobe and handed it to him. "Remember this when she breaks your heart."

Rose walks out the dorm, and enter her own. She didn't have time to think about Scorpius's terrible choices and instead focused on her own plan. Quickly, she applied applies mascara and eyeliner, topping off the look with dark red lipstick.

Ignoring the devilishly handsome blondie pacing in her common room, she went downstairs to the Great Hall to meet up with Midgen. He was wearing a plain blue t-shirt with shorts, but Rose didn't mind. She didn't need to be picky. Rose nodded at Midgen and sat across from Samantha at her own table.

"Rose, you look fetching!" Samantha exclaimed. "Who's the lucky boy?"

"Frances Midgen," Rose grumbled, beginning to gobble up waffles.

Samantha raised her eyebrows. "He's not really your... er... type."

Rose gulped down her last waffle and smiled at Samantha. "That's the point, isn't it?" Emmeline, Nicole, and Grazie walked over and Rose mouthed to Samantha, "I'll fill you in later."

"Gotta go! Later, Samantha!" Rose said quickly, standing up and grabbing Midgen's hand.

"Time for Hogsmeade, Midgen."

* * *

The two decided to go to Zonko's Joke Shop, where Rose pretty much bought an entire section out. Then, they went to Honeydukes and at last decided to hang out at Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. Rose hated that place, but she knew it was the only way to get Midgen to talk.

The tea shop was elaborately decorated with chocolate brown hearts and orange pumpkins. Covering it all were year-long pink banners and flying feathers. "May I take your order?" a waitress asked.

"Yes, we'd like a Scarlet Sundae and two vanilla tea scones" said Rose. Midgen just nodded, his eyes unfocused.

"So Midgen," Rose began as the waitress rushed to get their order, "let's get down to business."

"I'm sorry?" asked Midgen, shaking out of his dreamland.

"I've never been so madly in love with someone until I met you, Midgen," Rose cooed. "I've wanted to marry you since you came to this school."

Midgen choked and his eyes began to water. "What?" he gasped.

Rose let out a tiny snicker. Oh, this was working perfectly. "I was thinking of having a lavender theme for the wedding... or perhaps green, it clashes wonderfully with my hair. I've already made a guest list," she explained.

Midgen's face began to turn slightly green. "I really should go." He stood up and practically ran out of the tea shop, but Rose chased after him. He was pretty slow, and she was quite fit because of Quidditch. At last, they reached a hidden alley.

"Okay Midgen," she whispered, backing him into a corner. "Admit it."

"Admit what?" he asked innocently.

"You're in the closet," she stated. "And I'm going to help you out."

Midgen's eyes widened. "How do you know?" he whispered.

Rose smirked. "Did you see yourself? You're not even interested in me. You're hoping dating me will shut down any rumors about you being in the closet."

Midgen sighed, and ran his hand through his hair. "Damn you, Weasley. What do you want?"

"Who's your crush?" Rose asked.

"Since you already know everything else, I may as well tell you. Your brother, okay? Now don't bother me about it, and not a word." He was about to pull out his wand when Rose said,

"I can get you two together. You're a clever boy, aren't you, Midgen?"

Midgen's eyes widened and Rose could see the hope inside them. "If you help me, what do I have to give you?"

Rose flashed him a genuine smile. "I just want my brother to be happy. Admit it, Midgen, this wouldn't have worked out any other way."

"You sure do a lot for family," Midgen muttered.

Rose looked proud as she stood up straighter. "Yes, yes I do. But let's go to the Three Broomsticks, and pretend we decided to just be friends, and we'll discuss plans."

Midgen put his wand back in his pocket and agreed. "I knew dressing up badly would give you a clue," he muttered.

Rose simply laughed.

* * *

-Scorpius-

* * *

Scorpius had to admit, the date with Grazie was going wonderfully. She looked even better than Rose, if that was possible. She was wearing a short skirt and low neck blouse, with her jet-black hair flowing out perfectly. They had gone to Honeydukes and Zonko's Joke Shop. Now, they were sitting at The Three Broomsticks. Thank Merlin this girl wasn't a Madam Puddifoot's type.

There had been holding hands and the occasional peck on the cheek, but nothing more. Scorpius turned into a boy head over heels for Grazie as every second passed.

The date wasn't awkward at all. Grazie was great at keeping the conversation, and they talked and jokes around so much. Grazie was the only person besides Rose that he had ever felt at ease with.

They sipped their butterbeer as Grazie told an enchanting story about her first Quidditch game. Scorpius loved the way she spoke. She told amazing stories and he was never bored by her. As Grazie told the story, they began to play Footsie.

"So where to next?" asked Scorpius. They both finished their butterbeers and had a moment of silence, sighing in content. Grazie smiled. Her smile was lit up. Scorpius sighed again. Everything about her was perfect.

"I know a secret passage," she whispered, taking Scorpius's hand. As they left The Three Broomsticks, holding hands, Scorpius passed by Rose who was chatting with Midgen. He felt a strange feeling in his stomach, but ignored it and looked back at Grazie.

"Close your eyes, Scorpy." Scorpius shut his eyes and let Grazie guide him into a mysterious passageway. When he opened his eyes, they were enveloped in complete darkness.

He could see Grazie's form, practically pressed up against him. He leaned forward, about to kiss her, when the lights turned on.

Scorpius blinked and saw that he was in a secret passageway, but it wasn't just him and Grazie. It was him, Grazie, and Emmeline Finnigan.

Grazie cackled. "Did you honestly think I would kiss you?" she taunted. "You're nothing. That badge was just that weird cat taking pity on you." Weird cat? Was she talking about Professor McGonagall?

"Who would want to date you? You're just a loser, Malfoy. Even in your little group of Death Eaters, you're nothing." Finnigan added. Scorpius could not understand how Rose ever became friends with her. Rose! Was she apart of this, too?

"Thanks for the date, Scorpius," Grazie yelled. "That was the most entertaining one I've had this year!" She and Finnigan giggled as they both ran off. As they ran, the lights turned off.

Scorpius let out a tiny sob and the darkness shut him in like an envelope.

* * *

-Rose-

* * *

As soon as they sat down in the Three Broomsticks, Midgen smirked. "Merlin, your face when you saw Malfoy and Grazie was priceless!"

"What do you mean?" asked Rose, fingering the tablecloth. Midgen was beginning to sound like Albus.

"It's obvious you like him."

Rose scowled, refusing to meet Midgen's eyes.

"Hey!" Midgen exclaimed, his eyes lighting up. "Since you're helping me, how about I help you with Malfoy?"

Rose at last met Midgen's eyes. "I don't need help," she hissed. "Because I don't like him."

Midgen shrugged. "Keep saying that, Weasley. But when you finally stop being in denial, remember that I'm the one who's going to help."

Rose just rolled her eyes. He'll never need to help, because she did not like Scorpius. It just annoyed her that he was going on a date with her sworn enemy. That was all to it, right? _Right? _

"Anyways," Rose said, lowering her voice. "Let's begin with the plan. You have to ask him out, because you're older and he's in denial." They lowered their voices more, and Rose whispered her brilliant plan to Midgen.

* * *

-Scorpius-

* * *

Scorpius was in his dorm, feeling absolutely miserable. His first date was a joke! And Rose was right, as usual. Merlin, she was always right.

He hadn't cried much, though. Scorpius rarely cried, but now he only let out a few tears before becoming completely silent.

It shouldn't have bothered him so much, but Scorpius took these things much more seriously.

He was sitting on the floor, his head in his hands, when Rose burst open the door. Her cheeks were pink from the cold outside, and her eyes looked bright. As soon as she saw Scorpius, however, Rose's smile was wiped away.

She sat down next to him. "Scorpius? What happened?" she asked, lifting his head up.

"You can say, 'I told you so' now," Scorpius said, his voice cracking.

"Oh, Scorpius," Rose sighed, giving him a warm hug.

"I thought you told me not to come crying to you," Scorpius mumbled into her leather jacket.

"Yeah, well, I came to you this time," Rose replied. At that, Scorpius gave her a tiny smile.

"She was about to kiss me, and then she backed away and called me a loser. Finnigan was there, too, and called me a Death Eater."

Rose immediately let go of him, her eyes flashing. "I'm going to kill Emmeline if it's the last thing I do," she growled. "I can't believe she would...she knows you're my friend!"

"Don't do anything rash," Scorpius said, standing up. He realized that he was so much taller than her.

"Well, Scorpius, what do you expect to do? Sit here and soak in your misery?" she snapped.

Scorpius set his jaw. Rose always made him sound ridiculous when he was depressed. "No," he said aloud. "We're going to pull an elaborate prank on her." Scorpius realized, then, that that was exactly what he wanted.

Rose grinned at him. "Any ideas?"

And so began the best revenge the world has ever seen.

* * *

-Rose-

* * *

Rose went downstairs for dinner at the Great Hall. Scorpius decided to stay back, working more on the revenge and not wanting to face Grazie. But Rose refrained herself from hexing Emmeline and Grazie right then and there in the Great Hall. She sat down next to Hugo, being the only girl in his group of friends. She didn't care, though. There was a task at hand, and Rose was determined to carry it out to its fullest extent.

Rose spotted Midgen, walking over slowly. She glared at him, and he quickly speeded up the process when he was at last right behind Hugo.

"Hugo," Rose whispered in her brother's ear. "Somebody is right behind you."

Hugo turned around and his eyes widened when he saw Frances Midgen.

"Can I help you?" Hugo asked.

"Hugo Weasley," Midgen announced, his voice wavering only a tiny bit. He glanced at Rose for support, and Rose nodded at him to keep going. "I'm madly in love with you. Will you go out with me?"

The entire hall grew silent at this declaration of love. Everyone waited for Hugo's answer.

Rose gave her brother a thumbs-up. Hugo stood up and announced loudly, "Yes."

The Great Hall burst into cheers as Midgen and Hugo hugged. Rose stood up and said, "Well, I'll leave you two." She winked at the two who were beaming proudly, and laughed at the whistles and catcalls that went her brother's way.

At least something was going right.

* * *

**I absolutely loved writing this chapter. So, Hugo's secret is out: Hugo is gay! So yes, Arabella, you guessed correctly.**

**I hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter. Favorite, follow, review... feel free to ask me any questions about the story or about writing in your reviews. I will gladly answer them. Until next time ... bye!**


	11. To Be Weasled and To Prank

**Hell_o_! I am truly sorry for my long update, but I've had less time to post new chapters. My updates are not weekly anymore, but random. You'll have to bear with me and not freak out when I don't update in a week or longer.**

**Here we go:**

* * *

-Scorpius-

* * *

"Wake up," a voice whispered in his ear, shaking him gently.

Scorpius moaned and mumbled incoherent curses. "Let me sleep," he groaned.

The voice let out a heavy sigh. "Scorpius, we need to go over the plan."

Scorpius recognized the voice and blinked his eyes open. "Rose, what time is it?"

"The sun is coming up as we speak," Rose replied brightly. Scorpius could see that she looked exhausted, too, but still managed to keep a cheery tone.

"Let me fall asleep and be miserable," said Scorpius. "And don't you dare yank the blanket off of me, I'm only wearing boxers."

From the corner of his eye, Scorpius could see a faint pink appear on Rose's cheeks. "I was_not _going to do that," she said indignantly.

Her remark was only met with silence. Rose sighed and Scorpius could feel her weight pull on the bed as she sat down. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked kindly.

Scorpius shook his head, feeling warm tears fill up his eyes. Why was he crying? Malfoys don't cry. Ever.

He turned over, his body facing Rose. He glanced up at her, and let the tears fall shamelessly.

Rose lay down on the bed next to him, and the two teens lay there, having a moment of utter silence. She turned her head towards him, and their noses were almost touching. For a second, he thought she was going to- no, he shouldn't think silly thoughts like that. Why would Rose do that? Ever?

Rose reached towards him, and pulled him in a hug. "Don't believe her. She's lying, you know. You're not nothing, and you are not a loser," she whispered softly. She said earnestly, "You're so much more than that. You're Head Boy! You're anything but a loser. And you don't need to date anyone because you're too good for all of them."

They were far too close. Rose turned her head to look him in the eye, and in that split second, Scorpius crashed his lips against hers. She didn't pull away, and kissed him back. Scorpius could not deny how he felt. His heart was racing, and his breath became raggedy. He found it hard to breathe. Damn, she was a good kisser. She smelled of vanilla, and Scorpius sighed as he inhaled the beautiful scent. It felt so right, so-

Reality slapped Scorpius in the face. Hard. What on earth was he doing with bloody _Rose Weasley? _He wasn't even wearing a shirt, for Merlin's sake! Rose Weasley was a heartbreaker, and he had let her get too close. No. This wasn't supposed to happen._  
_

Scorpius pulled away roughly, and grabbed his wand from the dresser. With one simple spell, his clothes were on. He climbed out of bed, fully dressed. "Come on, I put my research in the common room," he said in what he hoped to be a steady voice. He took deep breaths as he walked out quickly, not even glancing back at the girl he just snogged.

He knew that if he glanced back, it would be obvious. It would be so clear that nothing between them would ever be the same again.

* * *

-Rose-

* * *

Rose was shocked. She could not bear to look at the Slytherin leaving the room. She was still breathless, her heart racing. Yes, she had snogged a large amount of boys in Hogwarts, but no boy had ever made her feel this way. The boys she snogged meant nothing to her, but Scorpius was different. He meant so much to her, and snogging him felt perfect. Just right. Like she would settle down with him right then and there, never looking back.

What could she do now? Walk into the common room and pretend it never happened? Or talk with him and try to start a relationship? But Rose knew the latter was impossible, because she knew she couldn't stay committed, as badly as she wanted to.

Rose sighed and stood up, smoothing out her scarlet red T-shirt. She threw her hair up into a bun, and tried to put a smile on her face. She took slow, deep breaths, trying to calm her heart. She was Rose Weasley. She could go in there, and act as if nothing happened, as if they were just friends plotting to pull a prank. Which is exactly what they were before they... well, you know.

Just friends. Oh, how she hated that phrase.

Rose walked into the common room, her head high. On the other side stood Scorpius, sitting on his favorite armchair. She realized then how handsome he looked when he woke up. His hair was tousled, and he looked like a vulnerable teddy bear with his drowsy eyes. His shirt clung to him, showing muscles that Rose had never seen before. It was stunning how one snog could change how you look at a person.

Rose shook her head, shaking the useless thoughts out of her head. "Can you give me your research? We need to write the letter."

"Fine," he said coldly. Rose tried to look him in the eye, but he avoided her gaze as he handed her a stack of papers. "I found a lot," he said quietly, and turned away.

Oh, so this was how it was going to be. He would avoid her at all costs, become cold again. As if term had just begun._Why couldn't he just pretend nothing happened? Why couldn't he be normal about it, instead of acting so awkward? _Rose wondered.

But she realized that as much as that one snog greatly affected her, it must have affected Scorpius ten times more. That was the only explanation for his sudden change of behavior.

Rose scanned over the papers. She secretly thanked Scorpius for highlighting the most important information. It made planning the prank all too easy.

"Okay," she said. "Let's begin."

* * *

-Scorpius-

* * *

As awkward as it was to plan a prank with the girl you just snogged in bed, the results were more than satisfactory. The prank would go perfectly, and Grazie would get it. Best of all, nobody would know who planned it. But if McGonagall started to suspect, Scorpius would step in and admit to doing the prank. His record was clean, so he wouldn't be expelled. But if Rose was caught, she may get expelled. And Scorpius did _not _want that to happen.

Ugh, one snog had changed it all. In the common room, Rose acted as if nothing happened. But something did happen, and ignoring it would not make it go away. Scorpius intended to confront it, but he had to consult Albus first. His feelings for Rose were on an all time high. As expected, since it was Rose Weasley.

They didn't even walk together to breakfast at the Great Hall, like they normally do. Scorpius went first, arriving very early. He sat down next to Albus, who stared at him.

"What?" he nearly snapped. He didn't like the stare Albus was giving him.

Albus gave him a half-smile. "Congratulations, Scorpius. You've been officially Weasled."

Scorpius turned beet red at this statement, remembering what it meant to be Weasled. "Albus..." he warned in a low voice, glancing around to see if anybody was listening. Thankfully, nobody was listening in.

"Yes?" asked Albus innocently. His emerald eyes twinkled. "Tell me, Scorp, how did it happen?"

Scorpius mumbled, "We snogged."

Albus grinned. "Did you really? And what happened after that?"

Scorpius glared at him and said, "We'll talk about this later. But not now." He stabbed his waffles viciously, and glumly sipped orange juice. He did his best to ignore the look Albus was giving him. Why did that boy have to be so damn perceptive?

* * *

-Rose-

* * *

Rose took her mind off of snogging Scorpius as soon as she entered the Great Hall. She grabbed a blueberry muffin and sat in her usual spot next to Samantha, across from Nicole, Emmeline and Grazie. Usually, Rose did her best to ignore Grazie but now watched her from the corner of her eye as she ate her breakfast.

There was the flapping of wings, and Rose glanced up to see the owls coming. She smiled. Showtime.

Grazie eagerly grabbed her mail, looking at a pure white envelope with interest. It did not say who it was from, but had a beautiful seal that implied it was from a wealthy person. She ripped open the envelope, forgetting all grace.

Her face turned pale white as inside the envelope was a letter that flew out of her reach. The letter flew to the ceiling, and the Great Hall fell silent and looked above. The letter, you see, was a Howler.

It opened its mouth and began the long, terrible speech that everyone was interested in hearing.

"GRACE SANDERS, I HAVE HAD IT WITH YOU!" A shrill voice began.

"AGAIN AND AGAIN, YOU HAVE SHAMED ME WITH YOUR ACTS OF DEFIANCE. WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW HOW? I HAVE A LIST RIGHT HERE:

1\. FIRST, YOU RAN OFF TO CHASE AFTER YOUR FATHER, WHO YOU KNEW VERY WELL DABBLED IN THE DARK ARTS. IN FACT, YOU WANTED TO BECOME JUST LIKE HIM. RODOLPHUS LESTRANGE IS NOT A TRUE FATHER, WHICH YOU FAILED TO REALIZE. YET, YOU BURNED DOWN OUR HOME AND RAN OFF TO FIND HIM, NEARLY KILLING ME IN THE PROCESS.

2\. I SEARCH FOR YOU FOR TWO YEARS STRAIGHT, BUT THEN I HEAR OF YOU AGAIN. I FIND OUT YOU HAVE BECOME A PETTY THIEF IN CANADA. I CHASED AFTER YOU, BUT BY THEN YOU CHANGED YOUR NAME TO ANABELLA PEARL.

3\. AS ANABELLA PEARL, YOU TURN INTO A WELL-KNOWN PROSTITUTE. I AM DISGUSTED WHEN I HEAR THAT MY THIRTEEN YEAR OLD DAUGHTER HAD TURNED INTO A PROSTITUTE! THIRTEEN! WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOURSELF, SELLING YOUR BODY AT TIRTEEN!

4\. THEN, YOU TRAVEL TO GERMANY. YOU DISCOVER YOUR MAGICAL POWERS AND CHANGE YOUR IDENTITY AGAIN, BECOMING A STUDENT AT BEAUXBATONS. EVEN THEN, YOU CONSTANTLY GOT INTO TROUBLE FOR FAILING ACADEMICALLY AND BEING CAUGHT DABBLING IN THE DARK ARTS MULTIPLE TIMES. YOU PLAY AS AN ELEVEN YEAR OLD, AND SPEND YOUR NEXT SEVEN YEARS IN BEAUXBATONS.

5\. THEN, YOU GRADUATE FROM BEAUXBATONS BUT COMPLETELY REMOVE ALL MEMORIES OF EVER GOING TO THAT SCHOOL. BY THE TIME YOU GRADUATE, YOU ARE TWENTY YEARS OLD. AT LAST, I FIND YOU HERE AT HOGWARTS, PRETENDING TO BE A SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD SEVENTH YEAR. YOU STILL BEWITCH BOYS EVERY WEEKEND, TREATING THEM AS TOYS. YOU DABBLE IN THE DARK ARTS AND ONLY JUST RECENTLY USED THE IMPERIUS CURSE ON THE HEAD BOY! YOU CHANGED YOUR NAME TO GRAZIE.

I AM ASHAMED OF WHAT YOU HAVE BECOME. YOU ARE A TWENTY YEAR OLD AMERICAN WITCH WHO NEVER LEARNED MAGIC THE PROPER WAY. YOU ARE GRACE SANDERS, NOT GRAZIE. AND REMEMBER THAT YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR IDENTITY AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WANT, BUT I WILL ALWAYS FIND YOU, MY WORTHLESS DAUGHTER."

The letter burst into flames and everyone stared at Grazie. Her face was practically purple, and she was shaking with anger and embarrassment. Everyone in the Great Hall was shocked. An awkward silence began.

Professor McGonagall was the first to break the silence. She hurried down from the table and walked straight up to Grazie. "You are coming with me," she said in a cold voice, and it was clear she wasn't asking. She grabbed Grazie's wrist, and what shocked everyone even more was when Grazie didn't resist. As soon as the pair left, the Great Hall returned to its chatter. But the main topic of this chatter was Grazie.

Across the hall, Rose could see Scorpius. She met his eye and smiled at him, before asking Samantha, "What was_that _all about?" Because honestly, she didn't have a clue. Or at least that is what everyone except Scorpius thought.

* * *

Sunday, October 8, 2023

The Library

* * *

A.P: Care to explain how you've been Weasled?

S.M: Why do you call it that? It sounds like I've been tricked.

A.P: Well, usually, boys who've been Weasled have been tricked. But from the way both of you are acting, I'd say this particular situation runs both ways.

S.M: ...What?

A.P: I'll explain if you explain.

S.M: Fine then. Yesterday, I went on a date with Grazie. She lead me on and almost snogged me, but then I discovered that she just wanted to break my heart. She said she would never snog me, and laughed at me. Oh, and Finnigan was there, laughing with her.

A.P: What does that have to do with Rose?

S.M: I'm getting there. Okay, so I was very beat up about what happened. I mean, this was my first real date and my heart was broken. So-

A.P: Wait, that Howler Grazie got was from you and Rose?

S.M: Yes, now stop interrupting.

A.P: That's brilliant, though! Was everything in the letter true?

S.M: Yes, it was. Shut up, I'm trying to tell a story.

A.P: Go on, then.

S.M: So this morning Rose woke me up early so we could work on our prank, which was the Howler. I was depressed, so she gave me a hug and tried to comfort me.

A.P: Where did this happen?

S.M: In my bed, I was in just my boxers. And you can guess what happened, she was being kind, I was vulnerable, so we snogged.

A.P: What happened afterwards?

S.M: We still had to plan out the prank, which we did in the common room. It was very awkward. We didn't touch each other at all, and Rose acted like nothing had happened. I just didn't look at her. And... that's it. Story's over.

A.P: Wow. The way you two looked this morning, it was obvious that something happened. This may sound weird, but Rose looked Weasled too.

S.M: That makes no sense whatsoever.

A.P: I mean that the snog you guys had wasn't just a snog. For Rose, it meant something to her. The snog obviously affected you, but it affected her too. For some reason, you're different to her.

S.M: What are you saying, then?

A.P: I'm saying, Go for it. Because she has feelings for you, too. The only reason why I warned you before was because she can't stay committed.

S.M: That's the problem, though. She and I have never been in a relationship that actually lasts.

A.P: Do you want my help?

S.M: Help with what?

A.P: Winning her heart, or something along those lines. Mind you, this isn't going to be bouquets and serenades. We're Slytherins, and we're going to do it the Slytherin way.

S.M: Thanks for the offer, Albus, but not yet. Soon enough, I'll ask for your help but for now, I need to talk to her and make sure we're still friends and nothing awkward is going on.

A.P: Brilliant as usual, you. And I wonder, how did you dig up all that dirt on Grazie?

S.M: It wasn't hard. There's this Muggle thing called the Internet.

A.P: I know, I use it sometimes. How did you learn, though?

S.M: Muggle Studies.

A.P: Ah. Okay, the library is going to close soon. I'm calling it a night. Night, Scorp.

S.M: Night, Albus.

* * *

-Rose-

* * *

Rose stayed up in the common room, waiting for Scorpius. She needed to assess their situation and erase all awkwardness. Also, she wanted to celebrate the success of their prank, and ask if he found out what happened to Grazie. Nobody had heard or seen her all day since she left with McGonagall.

The door opened, and Scorpius Malfoy walked inside. Rose felt a flutter in her stomach that she knew would stay there for a while. She sighed inwardly.

"Rose?" Scorpius asked.

"Hey, Scorpius. We've got patrol tonight, remember?" Rose said.

"Oh, right," he said. There was an awkward silence and Rose could immediately tell that getting their friendship back on the road would be very hard.

"Let's go." Rose stood up, and they walked out the door.

"So," Rose began. "What did you think of the prank?"

Scorpius smiled at her, and her heart melted. "It was great! Entertaining, perfect. I've never pulled a successful prank before."

Rose wondered, "Do you know what happened to Grazie after McGonagall took her out of the Great Hall? Samantha told me Grazie hasn't visited the dorm, and her stuff is still there. McGonagall is back too, and she's just in a bad mood."

"I haven't heard anything, or seen her around. I wouldn't be surprised if she was being questioned by the Ministry."

"Scorpius, when you said she used the Imperius Curse on you..." Rose trailed off, her eyes filled with worry as she looked at Scorpius.

"There were times when I couldn't remember what I did for the past hours, where I found myself in strange places. McGonagall hasn't questioned me yet. It's strange."

"Are we okay?" Rose asked randomly.

"What do you mean?"

Rose lowered her voice. "This morning... Are we okay?"

Scorpius nodded, giving her an easygoing smile. "Of course we are. Let's pretend it never happened, all right? It was nothing."

"Right... nothing," she nodded, her voice shaking a bit at the "nothing." How dare he say it was nothing? It was so important, it was everything!

"I don't want us to ruin our friendship over this, all right?" he explained.

Rose just nodded, unable to speak.

* * *

October 8, 2023

This morning, I was comforting Scorpius about Grazie breaking his heart and he... he snogged me. He made the first move. And that snog completely changed us. I can't deny it, I fancy him. But we talked about it on patrol, and he said to forget about it. He said it was nothing.

I just... he doesn't understand. He wasn't another boy to snog, another boy I didn't care about. He made the first move, and he's different. I have real feelings for him, he isn't just a snogging partner. I want him to be more than that. But then he has the nerve to say to forget it.

It wasn't nothing! It was the exact opposite. It was everything. It can't be forgotten. If only he understood that.

I need an Albus Potter. Pronto.

* * *

**That's the end! Wow, serious Scorrose moment in there. Let me know what you think! Review, follow, favorite, all those beautiful things! I'd love to know what you guys think about this snogging, and the terrible side of Grazie. And keep reviewing, because up next is the Halloween feast! Until next time...**

**~A.E. Seaflame**


	12. What Has Been Done Cannot Be Undone

**Hi. This is the last chapter in the month of October, and it'll be longer than the others. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Enough chat, let's get with the story.**

* * *

-Scorpius-

* * *

"Rose, what happened to your father?" The question was out of the blue in the comfortable silence Scorpius and Rose were in. They were doing their homework in the late afternoon, but Scorpius could not concentrate.

Rose looked startled by the question but easily answered. "The healers put him in deep sleep. They'll wake him up once they find a way to fix him."

"Rose, I didn't want to tell you early, but-" Scorpius began.

"There's no cure and he should be dead?" Rose finished. He nodded.

Rose smiled. "My dad's a fighter. And that book you sent your dad didn't give a cure, but it gave them a lead."

Scorpius didn't feel comfortable about talking it anymore. He was reminded of their first fight in the beginning of the year, and shaked slightly. "Okay, moving on, when do you want the students to pick their costumes out of the hat?"

She slapped her head. "Merlin, I completely forgot! How about we ask the prefects to organize it in their houses' common rooms? Prefects meeting, tonight at 8."

He grinned. "Trying to get the work off of you?"

Rose smirked at him. "Obviously."

He remembered something else. "Hey, do you have a... um... date for the ball?"

Rose shook her head. She spared Scorpius the embarrassment by saying, "No, how about we go? As friends, obviously."

Scorpius just gave her an awkward smile. "Yeah, sure. Er, I have to go somewhere..." he mumbled, and quickly left the common room.

* * *

-Rose-

* * *

Rose wanted to hit her head against the wall multiple times as she watched Scorpius scurry out of the common room. Ugh, why did she have to say "as friends?" She wanted to go with him as a real date. Romantically, that is. What was stopping her? Nobody but her father, of course. Who was in a coma.

_Idiot, idiot, idiot. _

"I'M BRAINLESS!" She yelled out loud in frustration, but no one was there to hear her. Albus! She could go to Albus! The best mate of Scorpius, the best person at giving advice, and her dear cousin.

Rose quickly checked the Marauders' Map and screamed again when she saw that Scorpius had already gotten to Albus before her.

Who else could she talk to? Samantha! And while she was at it, Rose could find out whether Nicole was part of the cruel prank Grazie and Emmeline pulled.

Rose took a deep breath, and tied her frizzy hair up into a ponytail. Showtime.

* * *

Rose paced outside the portrait of the Fat Lady. The portrait was empty, so she was forced to wait for the Fat Lady to come back.

"Rose? What are you doing here?" an all-too familiar voice asked.

"Nicole," she acknowledge coolly with a curt nod.

The girl advanced toward her, and Rose could see her eyebrows were drawn together in worry. Her hazel eyes looked upset and guilty. "Rose, I wasn't part of that cruel prank of Emmeline and Grazie. I didn't know about it, and I suspect they didn't tell me because they knew I still talked to Samantha. I liked Grazie at first, but I never trusted her, Rose."

"How did you know I was going to ask about that?" wondered Rose.

"I can see it on your face."

Rose remembered then how intuitive Nicole was. She sighed, also remembering that Nicole did not lie. She looked up at her best friend, and gave her a hug. "I forgive you," she said.

"Guess I didn't need to step in," another voice said. The two girls broke apart to see Samantha beaming at them.

"Guess you didn't," laughed Nicole.

Rose smiled, but then remembered the other reason why she was here. "We need to talk. Lake?"

The lake was always where Rose talked about important matters with her best friends when the dorm wasn't available. The girls nodded and they linked arms. Rose couldn't help but smile. It felt like old times, when Emmeline wasn't a bitch and Scorpius was never in the picture romantically.

* * *

"Begin," said Nicole. They leaned against a large willow tree by the lake. Rose fingered the trunk and took a deep breath.

"I think I fancy Scorpius Malfoy." She paused, and was immediately bombarded with questions.

"Scorpius Malfoy? But he's a git!"

"How on Earth did that happen?"

"Isn't it the boys crushing on you?"

"Is this your first crush?"

"Did you two snog?"

"Did you have sex?"

Rose shuddered and yelled, "STOP!" Her face turned red at the thought of having sex with Scorpius Malfoy. She took another deep breath. "Let me finish, alright? Don't interrupt."

Rose began by shortening what had happened between them since term started. Samantha, who already knew most of this, minus the snog, wasn't surprised. But seeing Nicole's face was incredible. She began by looking shocked and disgusted, then grinning, and at last her face was completely suggestive when Rose reached the part about their snog.

"And then today, I was so stupid! He asked if I had a date for the Halloween Ball, and I said no and asked him to be my date. But_as friends!"_

"Wow, that is stupid," agreed Samantha. Rose glared at her. "It's true!"

Rose looked at Nicole, who was silent and pondering. "What do you think, Nikky?"

"I think you should go to the Halloween Ball with him as friends. After all, he probably doesn't want to run into another relationship after what happened with Grazie. Just give him some space. At the Halloween Ball, there is definitely going to be chemistry since you guys have to dance together. The worst mistake you can do is seduce him. Don't play games with him like you do with the other boys. You're going to have to be committed to him, and have a proper relationship." Nicole said.

Rose wasn't even offended by what Nicole was implying about her love life. Instead, she squeezed Nicole tightly. "Oh, thank you so much!" she squealed. "You're the best!"

"Anytime, Rose," Nicole said, looking slightly smug. "Any other problems?"

"Well," Rose began(ignoring the loud sigh from Samantha), "Should I talk to Albus about this? He is Scorpius's best mate, after all."

"No," Nicole said firmly. "I can't tell you why, but just don't do it."

Rose understood and didn't press Nicole. Her face broke into a huge grin. "You guys are amazing! Thank you so much, you've helped me a lot! Oh, and Samantha, round up the prefects. Prefect meeting tonight at 8." With that last remark, she left the lake, with students staring at her, not understanding her utter joy.

* * *

-Scorpius-

* * *

The Library

Monday, October 9, 2023

* * *

A.P: Why do we always meet in the library?

S.M: It's the Hermione Granger in me, you see.

A.P: Who told you that?

S.M: You did. You said once, and I quote, "Stop being a bloody Hermione Granger and take your nose out of the books."

A.P: Was I drunk?

S.M: Yep.

A.P: Ah, that explains it. Are you here about Rose?

S.M: Am I that predictable?

A.P: Yes, yes you are. Hey, do you mind if we don't have a conversation about Rose? It's starting to feel like our entire friendship is about a girl.

S.M: Of course, I didn't even think about that. Sorry, mate.

A.P: Have you been practicing lately and doing the warm ups? Our next match is this Saturday.

S.M: Everyday. Merlin, calm down. We'll do fine.

A.P: Right, we'll do fine. We have you.

S.M: Are you flirting with me?

A.P: You wish.

S.M: Albus, your cousin Hugo.

A.P: What about him?

S.M: Did he get any crap for being... you know, gay?

A.P: If he was anybody but a Weasley.. but no, everyone was supportive. All the girls think its awfully cute.

S.M: Yeah, and there have been about a dozen more people coming out since then.

A.P: Did you read the Daily Prophet this morning? "HUGO WEASLEY BECOMES HOMO WEASLEY" That's not even a clever headline!

Right?

Scorpius?

Scorpy?

Hullo?

S.M: Sorry, blanked out. I just remembered that we have a prefects' meeting. Later, mate.

A.P: Bye.

* * *

Scorpius ran into the room, dripping sweat. His hair was disheveled. "Sorry, I'm-" he began, gasping.

"Ten minutes late, we know," a voice finished. He glanced up to see a very irritated Rose Weasley. He walked over next to her and tried to ignore the snickering prefects.

Rose continued. "As I was saying, you must gather your house and have them pick out of a hat. We already have four hats prepared. No two costumes of the Halloween Ball will be the same. Seventh year prefects, you are in charge of gathering the sixth and fifth years of your house. Sixth year prefects, you are in charge of gathering the fourth and third years of your house. Fifth year prefects, you are in charge of gathering the second and first years of your house. Scorpius and I will handle the seventh years of all four houses. Understand?"

All the prefects nodded. "Very well. You may go." They all filed out of the room.

Scorpius noted, "You're getting better at handling these meetings."

Rose turned to him. She literally looked on fire. "Where were you?" she snapped. "You know I can't handle these meetings alone."

"I'm sorry, I was in the library with Albus and lost track of time."

Rose's tone softened. "Just don't do it again, please. That was frightening, leading the meeting by myself."

He gave her the famous Malfoy smirk. "Aw, Rosie is scared of leading meetings by herself." He mocked.

Rose punched his arm playfully. "It's not funny!" she insisted, but there was a smile on her face.

"Well, let's go. It's almost 9, time for patrol," Scorpius said, shaking off his thoughts about a certain redhead.

"Do we have to do tonight? Please," she begged, her eyes wide and innocent.

He couldn't resist. "Fine, we'll do Saturday."

"Thanks. I need my beauty sleep. Tomorrow we have to gather all the seventh years, which will be crazy."

"You don't need the beauty sleep," he mumbled, and immediately clapped his hands over his mouth. He hoped Rose didn't hear, and glanced at her fearfully. She gave him a strange look, and walked out.

* * *

-Rose-

* * *

October 9, 2023

I think Scorpius Malfoy just called me beautiful. It's not the first time I've heard it, but it just sounds different coming from him. Like... it means something. Wow.

* * *

"That was, by far, the most exhausting thing I have done. And that's saying something, since I once drank thirty-two bottles of Firewhiskey and had O.W.L.S. the very next day." Rose announced, falling into an armchair.

She and Scorpius had just finished gathering the seventh years and having them choose their costumes out a hat. Perhaps the most exhausting part was that there were no teachers helping and just him and Rose managing their peers.

Scorpius sat across from her, looking amused. His eyes were twinkling. "When you yelled at those Ravenclaw boys, though, their faces were hilarious. They looked like they've been told off by their mum!"

"Yeah, well, they were being complete gits. And gits need to be knocked down."

"Oh, what's your costume? I got vampire."

Rose exclaimed, "Vampire would be perfect for you! You have the pale skin, and you're tall so you can look intimidating." Her face suddenly turned gloomy. "I got a princess."

"Why are you upset? You could be an evil princess."

"I'm short! I can't be evil and scary," Rose insisted. She wasn't intimidating at all.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Height doesn't matter. All women can be scary."

"At least we won't look like complete idiots. Nicole got a couch, and Albus got a pair of glasses. Imagine trying to dance like _that."_

Scorpius frowned. "I didn't know they were going together."

Rose smirked. "But they will be. We are going to do some serious matchmaking, Scorp."

He muttered, "Why am I not surprised?" And he let out a heavy sigh as Rose began her plan.

* * *

-Scorpius-

* * *

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

Transfiguration

* * *

A.P: This substitue is so boring. I actually _miss _McGonagall.

S.M: Do you even understand what she's saying?

A.P: No, that Romanian accent is too strong. Although that body...

S.M: Albus! She's twenty years, at least, older than us!

A.P: I have no regrets.

S.M: Look at girls our age, you buffoon.

A.P: Buffoon? Really?

Ah, now you shut up.

Okay then. Be like that.

Scorpius, I'm bored! Talk to me.

Who are you taking to the dance?

S.M: Rose, as friends. You?

A.P: Oh, NOW you speak. I'm taking nobody.

S.M: You're required to have a date, you know. Rose's idea, not mine.

A.P: There is this girl...

S.M: Who?

A.P: Rose's best friend. Nicole Rivers.

S.M: You really are dense, aren't you?

A.P: What do you mean?

S.M: Don't you see the way she looks at you? Everyone knows she fancies you.

A.P: What do I do, then?

S.M: Ask her to the ball, idiot.

A.P: This is strange. Scorpius Malfoy giving ME relationship advice. I taught you well.

S.M: No, I just have common sense. Go on, ask her!

* * *

-Rose-

* * *

Saturday, October 14, 2023

Heads' Common Room

Late Evening

* * *

R.W: Shouldn't you be celebrating?

S.M: Why are we passing notes?

R.W: I'm too tired to speak.

S.M: I've never been one for parties.

R.W: But you're the hero! You ended the game, Slytherin won.

S.M: Is that bitterness?

R.W: No, it's defeat. With you on the team, Gryffindor will have to work day and night to win. I almost regret nominating you. You're too good.

S.M: Almost regret?

R.W: Because you're just another challenge that I can beat.

S.M: The Quidditch game today begs to differ.

R.W: Oh hush, Slytherin beat Gryffindor just once. Besides, this was the first game. Gryffindor still has the rest of the year to beat your team.

S.M: A "congratulations" would be nice.

R.W: Congratulations.

S.M: Still bitter.

R.W: Goodnight.

S.M. *sigh* Women.

* * *

The weeks passed by fast. After Gryffindor was murdered by Slytherin, nothing interesting happened. Hugo and Midgen remained a cute couple and it was obvious they wouldn't break up anytime soon. The Healers continued to search for a cure for Rose's father, but nothing came up.

Everyone in Hogwarts buzzed about the Halloween Ball. Only the first and second years were gloomy because they had to leave the ball at 9 PM. The rest of the years were able to be at the ball until midnight. Dates were found, and soon enough, Albus had asked Nicole.

Grazie was expelled from school after confirming that everything in the letter was true. She was returned to her mother in America(who actually existed) and took counseling sessions. Rose remained cool with Emmeline and did not talk to her, even though Samantha and Nicole had forgiven her. She also battled her feelings for Scorpius on a daily basis. It was clear by the time the Halloween Ball rolled around that Rose Weasley completely fancied Scorpius Malfoy. Of course, nobody knew(except Albus, maybe) whether Scorpius fancied her too.

Soon, it was the night of the Halloween Ball.

"Oh, Rose, you look stunning," gasped Samantha. The trio had spent the last two hours helping each other dress up in their dorm.

Rose looked in the mirror. She was wearing a floor-length pure black gown with blood stains(fake, obviously) that covered the skirt. Her red hair was left down, straightened and had no frizz. She was also wearing a tiara of onyx and diamonds and matching black heels. She supposed she looked beautiful, after close examination.

"He's going to love it," breathed Nicole.

"Who's 'he'?" Emmeline piped up.

"None of your business," Rose snapped before anyone could answer. She ignored the hurt expression on Emmeline's face.

"Rose..." began Samantha, perhaps about to begin a lecture about being nice. But Rose silenced her with a glare.

"I'm going to go now," she announced, and nobody tried to stop her as she stormed down the stairs and out of the common room. She promised to meet Scorpius at their own common room.

Why did Emmeline always have to ruin her mood? She had to stop acting like they were friends. Rose had made it pretty clear she wanted nothing to do with her, yet Emmeline kept trying. Why? What has been done cannot be undone.

Rose entered the common room without looking, and fell into none other than Scorpius Malfoy(Well, obviously. Who else? Professor Flitwick?).

"Easy there," he said, catching her immediately, his arm wrapped around her waist. She pulled away and stepped back, her eyes as wide as saucers.

"Merlin," they breathed at the same time, looking at each other.

Rose could not believe how he looked. He looked... for lack of a better word, _hot. _He was wearing a long white sleeved shirt and black dress pants. He had a black cape and looked somewhat frightening with the blood stains covering all of his clothing. His fangs looked quite realistic. Who knew vampires could be frightening and hot at the same time?

* * *

-Scorpius-

* * *

The princess standing before him looked frighteningly beautiful. They stood there, gawking at each other, before Scorpius remembered they had a ball to go to.

He linked his arm through hers. "Let's go," he said smoothly. Merlin, he wanted to snog her right then, the way she looked. Well, he always wanted to snog her but her looks currently made the desire deeper.

Rose shook her head as if coming out of a daze. They walked to the Great Hall, and as soon as they reached the doors, a girl came up to them.

Finnigan. Scorpius tried not to growl.

"Is that him?" she asked Rose, nodding at Scorpius.

"How about you do a favor and shove your head down a toilet, _Finnigan_?" Rose snapped. Scorpius was shocked. He had never heard Rose act so rude towards anyone except... you know, him.

"How about you stop holding a grudge that doesn't even involve you, _Weasley_?" Finnigan retorted. Damn.

He could feel Rose stiffen against him, and leaned down to whisper in her ear quickly, "Don't bother with her. She's not worth it."

Rose nodded, but shot one last glare at Finnigan and entered the Great Hall with Scorpius.

Scorpius, too, hated Finnigan for what she had done to him. But Grazie was the real problem, and they had already gotten their revenge. He didn't understand why Rose was so bothered, though. Rose wasn't the one who Finnigan ridiculed.

_Finnigan hurt you, and that's why Rose is mad at her. Get a clue, idiot._

Scorpius refused to believe that. The idea that Rose would all of a sudden hate her best friend because of him... if that was true, Scorpius felt guilty.

_You should be guilty. You broke apart a friendship that lasted seven years. For what? A friendship that's only lasted one month so far. And we all know THAT friendship began with a lie._

It wasn't EXACTLY a lie. It was just a topic never brought up.

_Keep saying that. But we all know the truth._

Scorpius cursed his inner voice and came back to Earth.

"Scorpius, we have to make a welcoming speech," Rose whispered.

Scorpius sighed and climbed onto stage, Rose right behind him. He cleared his throat, and the hall fell silent. "Welcome to the Hogwart's very first Halloween Ball! Feel free to visit our Haunted House on the fourth and fifth floors. The Haunted House will begin prompty at 8 PM. Our annual Halloween Feast will begin in ten minutes. Enjoy this night, Hogwarts!"

The students cheered and began sitting down at the tables. Instead of the house tables, there were bunches of small tables where students could sit with their friends. Scorpius and Rose sat at a table with Albus, Rivers, and Longbottom.

"Samantha, where's your date?" asked Rose.

"Talking Quidditch with his own friends. Rose, did you _have _to play matchmaker and force everyone to have a date? It's not Valentine's Day," Longbottom replied. Scorpius secretly agreed with Longbottom.

* * *

-Rose-

* * *

Rose hissed as Emmeline approached the table. Why couldn't the girl just stop bothering her? Before she could open her mouth and ask Emmeline to leave, Emmeline began.

"We need to talk, Weasley," the girl said in a cool voice. Rose was hurt that she was being called by her surname. But her face showed nothing as she stood up, looking like the pissed-off princess she was.

"No, we don't," Rose replied in an equally cold voice. "You need to stop bothering me."

"Me? Bothering you? Why do you think everything is about yourself, Weasley? I'm trying to clear my name, which you have ruined."

Rose was confused. "What?"

"Don't you understand?" Emmeline yelled. "If the Gryffindor Princess hates me, then everyone hates me! And I've done nothing wrong!" The Great Hall was silent, everyone staring at the two girls.

"'You've done nothing wrong'," Rose hissed. "Yeah, right! Don't you forget the part where you befriended a twenty year-old prostitute and criminal who is a Dark witch?"

"That wasn't my fault!" Emmeline insisted. "I knew nothing about her history. Grazie was an amazing friend, unlike you. All you cared about was yourself, ruining Malfoy's life, and whose heart you would break yet." She shook her head. "Then this year, all of a sudden you're Head Girl and friends with Malfoy! I knew that once you became Head Girl, everything I liked about you would be gone. And guess what? I'm right! You're a mess, Weasley. Just a spoiled Gryffindor Princess. You're not my best friend anymore. So stop hating me and look at yourself first. I'm not the one who's changed. It's all you." And with those last words, she stormed out of the Great Hall, her cape billowing. Rose, in that moment, was reminded of Severus Snape, even though she never met him.

The entire Great Hall stared at Rose. Rose felt her face heat up, and she too, stormed out of the Great Hall.

* * *

-Scorpius-

* * *

"Go after her, mate," Albus muttered. Scorpius, nodding his head, ran after Rose.

"Rose!" he yelled. If he was Rose, where would he go?

The Astronomy Tower.

When he reached the Astronomy Tower, he wasn't surprised to see Rose looking out the window.

"Be careful," he warned. "Dumbledore died here. He fell right out that window."

Rose turned around, wand drawn, but immediately relaxed. "Oh, it's just you."

Scorpius joined Rose at the window. "Are you okay?" he asked.

She looked at him, and Scorpius secretly thanked the heavens above to see that she was not crying. "Am I really a spoiled Gryffindor Princess?"

Scorpius shook his head quickly. "Of course not. No."

She smiled at him and pecked his cheek. "Of course you would say that. Tell me, Scorpius, how did we become friends?"

"You blew up at me after you found out about your dad, and then apologized. We decided to become friends after that," Scorpius explained.

Rose smiled sadly at him. "I apologized to you because I knew I had to be civil with you this year. I never meant for us to become friends. You were the one who proposed the idea, not me. I just wanted us to be civil."

"Oh."

"So why did you propose the idea?"

Scorpius shifted uncomfortably. He didn't want to tell her.

_She'll find out eventually. Better coming from you than someone else._

"Before term started, Albus made me promise to try to become friends with you. He was tired of our arguments, and thought we could do better as friends."

"And you just... listened? Doesn't seem like you."

Scorpius sighed regretfully. He would have to confess. "Albus paid me twenty galleons and blackmailed me with a secret."

"What secret?" inquired Rose.

"None of your business," snapped Scorpius.

"You know, I think I have every right to know, since this is what started our friendship," Rose said coldly. She looked at him, and her eyes pierced him.

"It doesn't matter, okay? That's the past."

"It does matter," Rose insisted. "I deserve to know. Tell me."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes!"

"Why do you care so much?"

"Because our friendship began with blackmail! It's only fair to know what the secret is!"

Scorpius blew up. "You know what? Fine! I had a crush on you in fifth year, alright? Not even a crush, I..." he paused, laughing cruelly. "I _loved _you. There, secret's out. Are you happy?"

He refused to meet Rose's eye and left the Astronomy Tower, racing to the safety of his bedroom and making sure to lock the door.

He fell asleep, cursing himself. Because he was positive of one thing: _What has been done cannot be undone. _

* * *

**Well, nobody saw THAT coming. Even I didn't, but apparently my fingers did, because they typed up those words. **

**So, tell me what you think. Review, review, review! And don't forget to favorite and follow while you're at it. **


	13. Confusion

**Hello again! Sorry for taking FOREVER to update, but I did warn you before that I utterly rubbish at updating on time. Merry Christmas Eve! I don't celebrate Christmas, and my winter break has begun, so I have a LOT of time on my hands for the next two weeks. Expect many more chapters. **

**So much has happened! Legend of Korra finale, OUAT winter finale, and I ship Korrasami(to all the LOK fans out there, what do you think? Especially now that it's canon). **

**Also, as response to a review I got from TwilightMoonbeams, I'm not going to put the sub-headings anymore. It can be tedious, and I would like to write from more point of views than just Rose's and Scorpius's. You might find Albus's POV in this chapter too, and some of Samantha Longbottom. There isn't a lot of Scorpius's view in this chapter, though, and I'm sorry for that.**

**Here we go:**

* * *

For the record, Rose would like to say that she does NOT run away from her problems. But Scorpius Malfoy drives her all kinds of crazy, so you could not honestly blame her for not running after Scorpius. She simply cannot just run after her problem, not when it comes to Scorpius Malfoy. After all, he did just declare his undying love for her back when they were _enemies _(how stupid, really! Why not now, when they were much more civil?) while also saying that their entire friendship was basically a lie.

Yeah, staying in the Astronomy Tower seemed like a much better idea. Especially because Rose felt so overwhelmed.

Rose decided, watching him run away as fast as his long legs could take him (no wonder he was good at Quidditch), that she was in desperate need of a Firewhiskey. She needed the burning sensation to burn away her confusion. But she knew that the house elves couldn't give it to her, and her stash was in the Gryffindor Tower. She didn't want to face Emmeline.

Honestly, what was she supposed to do? On one hand, Scorpius said that his secret was that he loved her (notice the past tense) in fifth year. On the other hand, he also said that Albus blackmailed him so their friendship was an utter lie.

Well, she couldn't say she was entirely innocent either. But that wasn't her fault! It was all Albus.

Albus.

Fucking.

Potter.

Rose looked outside at the starry skies and empty grounds. The shadow of the Whomping Willow swayed lazily, but she could find no answers out the window. Her grip on the window rail tightened, her jaw clenched, as she remembered.

_"Rose, I have a legitimate question for you," began Albus. The two were resting against the large sycamore in the beautiful garden behind Potter Mansion. In front of them was a large white and red striped picnic blanket, where various tarts and pies from the house elves were spread out. _

_"No, I will not marry you," Rose interrupted_ quickly._ She grinned, but then stopped at Albus's serious face._

_"What is it?" she asked softly.  
_

_"Why can't you and Scorpius be friends?" _

_Well, that was sudden. "We just can't. We simply do not get along."_

_"I'm sure the Headmistress won't be too happy about that," replied Albus easily._

_Rose narrowed her eyes at him. "Albus Potter, are you threatening me?"_

_"It's only threatening if you feel scared," he said cheekily._

_She tried to resist the urge to slap him, and instead, tried to get up and walk away. He immediately caught her wrist and pulled her down again. Stupid upper body strength. _

_"Hey, calm down," he said. Rose only crossed her arms defiantly. "I suppose I should get to it, then." His emerald green eyes had a wicked glint. _

_Oh, Merlin. This was not going to be good._

_Albus's voice turned business-like as he said, "You become friends with Scorpius Malfoy or else..." he trailed off._

_"Or else what?"_

_"Or else I'll tell your parents how you lost your virginity. And more importantly, _when._"_

_"You wouldn't!" Rose gasped, her eyes wide. She suddenly stood up._

_He smirked at her. "I would."_

_Rose knew with that smirk, with the look in his eyes, that he would. She had learned the hard way that Albus Potter does not lie. And his threats are never empty._

_She began to pace, throwing her hands up in the air. "So this is what it's come to. Blackmail, Albus? Just so I can befriend the pathetic Malfoy."_

_"Yep. And if he questions it, just say you want to be civil this year."_

_"You've got this all planned out, haven't you?"_

_"Of course," Albus said smoothly._

_Rose suddenly turned around and faced him. Furious chocolate brown met mellow emerald green. "Why, in Merlin's name, are you doing this?" she asked, so softly that Extendable Ears couldn't catch her words._

_His eyes suddenly flitted away. "I can't tell you," he said without a trace of guilt. "Just believe me when I say that I will tell if you don't at least attempt to be friends. By October, I want to see you two being civil. At the least."_

_Rose didn't spare him a reply and huffed, practically running away from the gardens. _

_UGH!_

_Albus._

_Fucking._

_Potter._

Rose now felt her anger rising. Not only did Albus play her and force her to be friends with Scorpius, he had done the same with Scorpius. It obviously wasn't Scorpius's fault but... their friendship _was _a lie. Why should she continue a lie?

* * *

It was midnight, and Albus Potter was extremely tired. He had danced the night away with Nicole Rivers, who was quite a catch, if you asked him. Yes, he wanted to see Rose and check if she was alright, but something told him that Rose would be quite angry, and the wrath of Rose Weasley is nearly impossible to handle, even for a devilishly handsome man like himself.

Of course, he didn't know, that the wrath of Rose Weasley would find him and murder him.

Well, that wasn't exactly what happened but her eyes had said it all.

He fancied a walk through Hogwarts late at night, so after changing into more comfortable clothes(because being a pair of glasses is never comfortable), he threw on his Invisibility Cloak and began a peaceful walk where he could think. He didn't bring the Marauders' Map, though, finding that he knew Hogwarts far too well, and not knowing where you're going is a great adventure. Also, he was quite sure he lost the map.

He was just thinking about Quidditch strategy and the meaning of life when somebody grabbed him. In a rather, _uncomfortable, _place. His arse. His Invisibility Cloak ripped off, he turned around to see a flaming red dragon. A beautiful one too, but she was annoying and off-limits(not that he's complaining, it's _her)_. Oh, and her name was Rose Weasley.

He could practically see smoke coming out of her ears as she pushed him into an empty classroom, none too kindly. He opened his mouth to say a fantastic dirty joke, but there was something about the way she looked at him that told him to just shut up for once.

"Albus. Fucking. Potter." She hissed this at him, advancing towards him. He found himself pressed up against the wall, but remained his composure. _Just let her yell at you. It's probably something meaningless. _Her hot breath was on his face, and he gulped. _Or not._

"Why in the actual hell did you blackmail Scorpius? Why did you blackmail either of us? Our entire friendship was a lie! And do you know where that got me?"

He shook his head.

"IT GOT ME FUCKING FANCYING HIM, YOU ARSE! IT GOT ME FALLING FOR HIM, WHEN I SHOULDN'T HAVE, WHEN I WOULDN'T HAVE IF YOU HADN'T BLACKMAILED ME AND HIM! YOU PIECE OF SHIT, YOU CAUSED THIS WHOLE MESS!"

Wait, what? What mess? Yes, he blackmailed Scorpius and Rose, but what does that have to do with anything?

Her voice grew deadly quiet. "Today, I-I asked him how we became friends. And he admitted to me that you blackmailed him with a secret. And I forced him into telling me what the secret was, and h-he said that he loved me. In fifth year."

"Crap",he muttered.

She continued on as if he hadn't spoken. "That's why you forced us to become friends, didn't you? Not just because you had dirt against us and you could. You did it for him, because he loved me at one point, and you did it for me, because you wanted me to find the one, and you wanted our friendship to become something more."

He had to give her credit. That was exactly why he did it. Rose Weasley was extremely clever, almost as clever as she was brave and reckless.

"Well, are you happy now? Guess what? We snogged, I fancy him, now it's become something more. An awkward friendship."

She paused and took a deep breath. Her eyes became less intense. "Well, that friendship was a lie. It was all a lie. And remember, Albus Severus Potter, that because of you, I'm not going to try to be friends with him. I'm not going to keep up a friendship that wasn't real. We're going back to the way we were, when life was simple. When we were enemies and I didn't care about him. When he didn't drive me nuts, when looking at him didn't make me want to snog him senseless."

_No, _he thought furiously, _you can't do that._

"Let's go back to when we were nothing. Let's pretend it never happened."

She turned around, ready to storm off, but Albus caught his wrist. "No, Rose, you can't do that!" he yelled.

"I can do whatever the hell I want, Potter, and I don't need your help," she said coldly, struggling to break free from his grip.

"Don't blame me," he snapped. "You were the one who wanted to know, you were the one who asked him. Not me."

Rose stopped struggling enough to look at him, actually look at him. He continued. "Yes, I started this, but you ended it. And what matters is how it ended, not how it began."

She finally broke free of his grip and slapped him hard in the face. He could see from the corner of his eye, Rose flicked her wand and his skin began to feel like it was on fire. He screamed in agony, but Rose had already stormed off. He could already feel his skin turn red and swollen, and gently touched it. He cursed Rose Weasley and her terrible hexes. Especially because he knew how she found him, he knew she had the Marauders' Map.

* * *

Drunk. Get drunk. That was Rose's goal, but she never got to it because as soon as she entered her room after yelling at Albus, her head hit the pillow and she fell into a deep sleep, still in her dress.

When she awoke, it was already 12 PM. Great, she missed breakfast. Although, missing breakfast wasn't completely terrible. The school must be whispering about her and Emmeline, and breakfast meant seeing Scorpius. In fact, leaving her bedroom meant seeing Scorpius.

Rose sighed and wondered if she could just stay in bed and ask the house elves to give her food. She fingered her silk sheets, glancing up at the light gold ceiling, as if there was something to see.

What on earth could she do? She reached under her bed for her journal(because only prudes have diaries) and began to write.

* * *

Saturday, November 1, 2023

Can you believe it? It's November. That means December is right around the corner, which means there's Christmas and my birthday and New Year.

I honestly don't know why I keep this journal sometimes. This is perfect blackmail material that Albus can use. After all, all Albus cares about blackmailing. He did blackmail me into becoming Scorpius's friend, and he did blackmail Scorpius in becomimg my friend.

I don't want to retell everything that happened, so I'll just summarize it in one sentence: Scorpius loved me in fifth year, our friendship was a lie, and Emmeline Finnigan hates me. And most of this was Albus's fault, for starting the whole blackmail business, so I did yell at him and slap him. I feel much better.

But I don't know what do now. I know I can't continue my friendship with Scorpius. I may fancy him, but knowing our friendship was a lie, I can't do it. I want to go back to the beginning, where we're enemies and I just promise to be civil with him. I want our friendship to begin naturally.

Wow, this might be one of the longest entries I've written in a while.

* * *

Rose stopped writing and reread her entry. She quickly rewrote everything that happened the night before on two pieces of parchment, and gave it to her owl, to send one to Nicole and one to Samantha. She had told them to meet her by the Great Lake at 2 PM.

Rose sighed. 12:30. Almost two hours to kill. She brushed her hair meticulously and washed off her makeup. Throwing off her dress and exchanging it for a cozy gray sweater and black leggings, Rose decided to head to the common room and do her DADA homework. She shuddered. Doing homework willingly? Becoming Head Girl had brought out her inner Hermione Granger.

Homework was an easy distraction, though, so she eagerly began practicing the complicated hexes for her DADA practical.

She glared at the couch she was practicing the tail-growing hex on. It simply didn't seem to work. She constantly waved her wand, muttering "_cauda_" repeatedly, but nothing seemed to work. She felt like the couch was smirking at her.

Rose screamed in frustration. She took a deep breath, and tried again. Waving her hand, she yelled, "_Cauda!_" But nothing happened.

Someone came up behind her, and she could already tell it was _him. _

"You've got to flick, not wave," he whispered in her ear. She shivered at how close he was. His hand on her wrist, he guided her wand. "Try it now," he whispered.

With his hand guiding her, Rose mumbled, "_cauda._" The couch suddenly grew a very long, spiky tail. With another flick of her wrist, the tail was gone. Rose turned around.

"Thanks," she said, trying to sound casual, even though she knew her cheeks were flaming.

He smirked, leaning against the wall oh-so casually. "You know, it would be easier if you had someone to practice with. Do you want me to duel you?"

Rose nodded, unable to speak.

She knew, she just knew, that he wasn't at fault. She wanted to be mad at him, but what was there to be angry about? If anything, she sympathized with Scorpius, because they were both blackmailed. Of course, _he _didn't know that.

"Well then, let's begin," he said.

"I'll move the furniture," Rose told him, and with another swish of her wand the furniture moved against the walls. She faced him, thinking about what spell to use. But she couldn't think long, as Scorpius had thrown a leg-locking jinx at her. She dodged it, surprised.

"Hey!" she yelled. "I wasn't ready!"

He smirked and threw another hex at her. Gritting her teeth, Rose pointed her wand to the left(here, Scorpius immediately scrambled to the right) and yelled, "_Densaugeo!_" But at the last second, she flicked her wand to the right and Scorpius was immediately hit with the hex.

His teeth were growing alarmingly large, but he still stood up, and looked at Rose, utter determination on his face. "_Cauda," _he hollered, and Rose looked behind her in horror to find a spiky tail growing from her poor arse.

"_Protego," _she said quickly, and Scorpius cursed aloud as the protection spell was cast. But quickly, he had taken it down.

For the next half hour, the pair threw curses and hexes and jinxes at each other until they were breathless. By the end, they were both breathless and had grown tails, extra ears, and horns alike. Their skins had various pimples and boils on it, and it had turned varying shades of green.

They leaned against the wall, and looked each other. Rose giggled at the sight before her. Scorpius's teeth were extremely large, his left ear had grown tiny, his skin was pea green, and his skin was covered in bright red pimples. She raised her wand and one by one, removed each spell from him. He did the same, and there was a moment of silence.

It was odd. Rose was planning to be enemies with him, but this was friendship. Perhaps... perhaps their friendship had begun as a lie, but it soon became real and not forced. Wow. A plan that hadn't gone her way.

* * *

Scorpius had to admit, Rose was amazing at dueling. She was also great at counteracting spells. Most people he duelled with couldn't match up to him. But Rose? Rose was the perfect match. She wasn't easy to beat, and was an exciting challenge

"Again?" he asked, grabbing her hand and helping her up. The duel was exhausting, but he loved it. In the end, it was a tie. Working with her was such an... adventure. And no, not that kind of adventure. Get your mind out of the gutter, you perv.

Of course, this was ignoring the fact that he had said he loved her in fifth year last night. This was ignoring the fact that their friendship began as a lie. But he knew it was real now. He stared at her, trying to figure what the hell was going through that brilliant mind, when she noticed him.

"Why are you staring at me?" she asked, her lips turning up in a smile. She was always smiling.

"Just... thinking, that's all," he said simply, before turning away. "Do you want to go again?"

"Sure," she told him. She was so casual and easy about things. She was rarely serious, and with her friends, always positive and comforting. She was so unlike him.

He didn't want to be distracted, knowing that when it comes to duels, Rose attacked if he was ever distracted. He sent a nonverbal curse, but somehow, she blocked it. Yep, she was that good.

After about twenty minutes' worth of hexes and jinxes, the pair found their wands at each others' necks. Scorpius's wand jabbed into her collarbone, and so did Rose's wand, their eyes never leaving other. He could feel her hot, raggedy breaths on his face. Her lips brushed against his, and out of impulse, he stepped back.

Rose quickly said, also stepping back, "I have to go. I promised I'd meet Nicole and Samantha at 2. Bye." For some reason, her cheeks were pink and she rushed out of the common room.

He sighed, knowing his cheeks were also flaming.

_Sweet Salazar, _he thought, _the things Rose Weasley does to me. (And the things I wish Rose Weasley would do to me.)_

* * *

Rose Weasley simply does NOT have meaningful moments with boys. Moments that you would think about and sigh wistfully. Ugh, no. She may have snogged many boys, but it does not mean she's a girly girl. No, sweet, meaningful moments were not her thing.

But then there was Scorpius Malfoy, and he's practically a sweet-meaningful-moment summoner, if that's possible. No, but seriously. She's always having these _moments _with him like it's her job. And she can't help but sigh wistfully at them.

_Holy Godric, _she thought, _the things Scorpius Malfoy does to me. And the things I wish he would just do to me._

Rose hurried out of the common room as fast as her legs could take her, which was pretty darn fast. She had only five minutes to get to the Great Lake, and it was a long way. She began running through the halls, sticking her middle finger at the prefect who yelled at her to not run in the halls. She was fucking Head Girl. She could do whatever she wanted.

Arriving at their usual tree next to the Great Lake, Rose sat down next to Samantha and began, "Sorry, I'm late, I was-"

"Having _lots _of fun with Malfoy?" finished Samantha, wagging her eyebrows at Rose.

Rose slapped her friend's arm. "No!" she shrieked. "We were dueling, and I lost track of time."

Nicole looked surprised. "Really? I thought you guys would be snogging by now."

"Why on Earth would you think that?"

"Oh, you know, he declared his love for you last night, we figured you would jump for it." Samantha explained.

Rose looked utterly confused. "But... our friendship was a lie."

"It _began_ as a lie," Nicole corrected. "But we all know it's real now."

"Oh, Albus will never let me hear the end of this. I yelled at him about how I'm ending it with Scorpius, but today we were friends and we didn't even talk about yesterday."

Samantha snorted. "You two are _so _slow. Just snog him and get it over with."

"Might I remind you that _he _snogged _me, _and nothing happened between us," Rose snapped.

Samantha put her hands up in defense. "Actually, I'm going to the library. Rose, can you give me the Marauders' Map, Albus demanded it from me at breakfast this morning."

Rose pulled out of her pocket the map and handed it to Rose, completely ignoring the frown Nicole gave Samantha, and the quick shake of the head and meaningful glance Samantha replied with.

* * *

Samantha Longbottom and Scorpius Malfoy

Saturday, November 1, 2023

The Library

2:30 PM

* * *

S.L: Hey, Malfoy.

S.M: Longbottom! Do you need help with something?

S.L: I need to know something.

S.M: Er, okay.

S.L: Do you still love Rose?

S.M: Isn't that a bit of a personal question?

S.L: I don't beat around the bush, Malfoy. And something tells me that if you were in my position, you would be just as forward.

S.M: I've always believed that love is a game for two to play. But when fifth year came, I realized love can be very one-sided.

S.L: How did it happen?

S.M: I had fancied Rose since third year. I was slowly falling for her, but I didn't accept it until fifth year. And she hated me. That prank at the end of the fifth year, just when my mum's dad died, just when I thought she was starting to like me, it ruined it. I realized she hated me, and she was not playing the game with me. She was playing against me. I got over her in the summer before sixth year, and it was easy to hate her.

S.L: And... this year?

S.M: This year, I was one hundred percent over her. But then she came back into my life, just when I was ready to forget her existence. Plus, Albus knew how I felt and he still blackmailed me. I'm going to kill that git.

S.L: Rose already hexed him.

S.M: I'll do it again. None of this would have happened if it wasn't for him.

S.L: What do you mean? What exactly happened?

S.M: You're awfully nosy for a Gryffindor. I thought it was only the Ravenclaws.

S.L: Well, I-

S.M: But for some reason, I trust you. You seem trustworthy.

S.L: -am just shockingly curious. Wait, what? You trust me? We barely know each other.

S.M: True. But when someone is trustworthy, you just know.

S.L: You're awfully wise, Malfoy. Have you shared any of your wisdom with our dear Rosie?

S.M: Um, no.

S.L: You should. Merlin knows that a little wisdom might make her just a tiny bit less reckless.

S.M: Actually, Longbottom, she doesn't seem very reckless around me

S.L: Funny that you call the person you trust by their last name.

S.M: Oh, right. It's Samantha, right?

S.L: Yeah. Okay, so tell me. What happened that makes you want to hex Albus?

S.M: Oh, you know, nothing at all except the fact that I fancy bloody Rose Weasley again and I simply cannot afford to have my heart broken again.

S.L: There's a quote by this American author, Henry David Thoreau. He says, "There is no remedy for love but to love more."

S.M: Who said I love her?

S.L: Maybe you don't know, but you will eventually. If you've done it before, you can do it again.

S.M: Who said I want to love her?

S.L: You can't decide who you fall in love with. But you can decide how to act upon it.

S.M: I'm confused.

S.L: You have a chance with her, you idiot! TAKE THE FUCKING CHANCE!

S.M: You never struck me as the type who cursed.

S.L: And you never struck me as an utter idiot who doesn't know how to make the move, but I guess we learn something new everyday, don't we?

S.M: I can make the move!

S.L: Yeah, right.

S.M: Okay... fine I can't. But what do you expect? I'm not a bloody Gryffindor, I don't have that bravery.

S.L: Mal-Scorpius, find your inner Gryffindor. Before I find my inner Slytherin.

S.M: Mal-Scorpius? Who's that?

S.L: Oh, look, there's my inner Slytherin! Let me just get her, and we can hex you to death.

S.M: I'm not scared of you.

S.L: You say that, but you're shaking and you glance at me fearfully.

S.M: Stop narrating my life.

S.L: Stop being a coward and make the move.

S.M: I may be a coward, but I'm a stubborn coward.

S.L: And so is Rose. You two are actually very alike. Both stubborn idiots who are completely head over heels for each other.

S.M: I don't wear heels.

S.L: Hush, it's a phrase.

S.M: I'm going, you're actually frightening me.

S.L: I knew it! Later, Scorpius.

S.M: Bye.

* * *

November 1, 2023

Dear Journal,

Samantha Longbottom is a pest, but trustworthy. And we call each other by our first names now, so we're somewhat friends. I spilled practically everything to her. I don't know why, but my gut tells me she is extremely trustworthy. Practically a Hufflepuff.

After what I said last night, I don't know where I am with Rose. We dueled today, not mentioning last night. I want to forget what this happened. I don't care what peple say, yes, I'm running away from all my problems. Rose is a huge problem, and I'll always run away. Because I can run fast, and I will keep running. I can't face problems head-on like Rose.

I've realized how different we are.

Rose: Gryffindor, cheerful, optimistic, many friends, brave, loyal, determined, proud.

Me: Slytherin, serious, pessimistic, few friends, coward, stubborn. She's everything I'm not. So pure, so amazing.

I don't care what Samantha thinks. I will NOT fall in love with Rose. Fancy her, but nothing more. I can't. I fucking can't.

Sincerely,

Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy.

P.S. I just realized I write these entries like a letter. I don't know why. I guess I like to think that these letters are to the Future Me.

* * *

**This chapter was just as long as the last chapter, but it felt a bit like a filler. At least you guys know what everyone thinks about the matter. Honestly, I planned something completely different for this chapter, but when it comes to writing, you never know what happens. **

**So, tell me: how was this chapter? Too long? Felt like a filler? Did you like the fact there were no sub-headings? **

**Please review, favorite, and follow. Wow, it took me all day to write this, nearly six hours. I'll post a new chapter soon, I promise. **

**~A.E. Seaflame**


	14. Author's Note, Last Chapter & Epilogue

**Oh dear.**

**Why, hello there. How are you doing? The name's Amethyst. Although that's a pen name.**

**What to say, what to say...**

**AH! YES!**

**Thank you to TheExtraStudent for reminding me that this story exists and people still care.**

**I'm quite happy with how much has changed in a year.**

**Eh, not really. I mean, this story has a little over 5,000 views (WOAH) but in terms of favorites and follows? Meh.**

**But I'm not complaining. I'm not here to say that I stopped writing this story because of the stats. I could care less about the stats. Here's really why:**

**This story is probably one of my most messy stories. At first, it was great. I loved writing about Scorrose, but then that chick came - ya know, the twenty-something year old prostitute and what-not? - and then the story got messed up.**

**I mean, I loved writing about Grazie, but I despised Rose and Scorpius's form of revenge. I remember cringing as I wrote it because even then, I knew that wasn't realistic.**

**Now, I've changed. I have much more respect for girls and I don't think that any girl would be stupid enough to spend her lifetime torturing the young boys of Hogwarts with her Veela-like abilities. Honestly, that whole thing was entirely unrealistic, quite offensive to the general population of women (I mean, I'm a girl! How could I have written that?) and after I released that Howler-prank-revealing-secrets-chapter, my story just went completely off course.**

**Honestly, I tried. I tried very, VERY hard to write chapter 12. But nothing came. Scorrose is supposed to have a rollercoaster of ups and downs, but my story threw them off the rollercoaster and had them rolling down a cliff, into the river, that led to a waterfall, leading them into a stream, into a bigger ocean, so that they can be washed up on the shore of a deserted island.**

**(Now you know why that question about what you would bring to a deserted island is so important. Always be prepared, kids.)**

**I messed it up when Rose decided to not confront Scorpius about him admitting he was in love with her, but instead was all like "Hey none of that happened lol"**

**STUPID. STUPID. STUPID.**

**Because Rose is a Gryffindor, and Gryffindors aren't afraid. Gryffindors aren't going to walk around that elephant in the room, nah, they're going to walk right up to that elephant and smack it.**

**Just kidding. They would pet the elephant, not smack it, because animals have feelings too.**

**#animallover**

**I'm getting off topic. Right. So that just messed up my story. I don't even know why I wrote that. What Rose did was complete OOC of what I made her out to be, and honestly, I just wanted to put some fluff. My desire for fluffiness led to me not writing fanfiction in a year... so I blame myself. You guys didn't do anything wrong.**

**Lesson of the year? Don't let the pen take you off the lines.**

**Ever.**

**So I haven't dared to reread this story, (I'm scared) but I will say that I really liked this story. I liked the idea, I LOVEDLOVEDLOVEDLOVED THE TITLE SO MUCH ASDFGHJKL, and I liked the way I wrote it. However, I had many plot holes and did not develop my characters as I'd planned to. I, like Rose, was reckless, but I was reckless in my writing, not in the bad-girl-party-type of way. (I'm a nerd. That's not what I do.)**

**In fact, I love all the stories I've written on here. Seven Ways to Woo James Potter? Woah. That was a pretty fucking amazing idea. I honestly want to continue it, just because I want to see Lily woo James for once, but here's another problem:**

**I lost all my documents.**

**Meaning, that deletes all documents created after 90 days. And since it's been WAY more than 90 days, I have lost my scraps of Chapter 12, and any other HP fanfiction ideas I've had.**

**What a shame... the poor groom's bride is a whore. I CHIME IN, HAVEN'T YOU PEOPLE EVER HEARD OF-**

**Gosh, I needed to stop getting off topic. Let me just sum it up for you, so I don't ramble again:**

**1\. I lost all my documents - so no updating my abandoned stories since I have nothing in my doc manager to update.**

**2\. This story was a mess - so I will NOT be completing it. It is over.**

**3\. However, I pity y'all for waiting so very long, so I am going to put an ending chapter with epilogue for The Oxymorons that will hopefully be enough to satisfy you people and this messed-up story.**

**4\. This author's note is referring to ALL my in-progress, multi-chapter stories - they will not be completed or continued.**

**5\. All my in-progress, multi-chapter stories will, however, still remain up. I love them too much to let them go. I will not take down my one-shots either.**

**6\. I am NOT deleting any of my stories or this account. Everything will remain up. Why? Because I am proud of my work on here, despite how long it's been.**

**7\. Do NOT give me hate or criticism for my choices in this matter. It's been a year. If an author takes a year to update another chapter, then that's kind of a hint that they MIGHT just stop the story. Okay? Okay. So don't act like this was unexpected, because I've been meaning to say this for a while now.**

**I hope you all, instead of judging me and hating, SUPPORT me in this decision. I am not leaving Fanfiction. I still read many stories from here, and I truly do like the stories I have written. I am, simply, stopping. I can't continue writing something when it's been so long and I have no muse for this story, or any of my stories on here. (And how do you have a muse when all your documents have disappeared? Hmm?)**

**With that being said, I now present to you the "ending" of The Oxymorons, written from only my knowledge from last year. I haven't read the story or anything; this is probably very unrealistic. But I want to give you all a goodbye present, and this is the story I decided to use as my present. (You should all thank TheExtraStudent - if it wasn't for him or her, I wouldn't have FINALLY written this note or made this story ending my goodbye present. There might've been no present.)**

* * *

Rose was, undoubtedly, frustrated with herself.

What was wrong with her? Why hadn't she confronted Scorpius yet? Where did all that Gryffindor bravery go?

_Probably wherever I left my heart, with Scorpius Malfoy._

It was still hard for her to accept the fact that she liked Scorpius. And it wasn't even a tiny, schoolgirl crush... this was something that, by the day, seemed to grow bigger and bigger until it soon exploded and she would have to say a different four-letter word.

Yes, Rose could barely accept her crush, but the possibility that she would fall in love with him?

Impossible, yet insanely likely.

Wait, what was Rose doing here, sitting in the library, thinking? She had to find Scorpius! She had to confront him, figure out how and why the fuck he ever was in love with her in fifth year. Fifth year, of all years! Rose always labeled that as her worst year - in terms of grades, recklessness, personality, friendships, everything.

Rose stood up suddenly, the wooden chair creaking obnoxiously loud. Madam Pince glared at her, and Rose pondered yet again on how much of a better place the world would be if Pince just got that stick up her ass permanently removed.

Where could Scorpius possibly be?

... the Marauder's Map! Rose had managed to steal it from Albus yet again. It was a petty theft, yes, but it soothed her at the thought of how Albus would react when he saw it was gone.

Ugh, Albus. Her stupid matchmaking cousin, making dares and bets and requests that seemed selfless, but was really for his own purpose. Salazar Slytherin would be bloody proud.

Rose hurried out of the library, pausing in an abandoned hallway to take out the map. Eyeing it, she saw that Scorpius was in an alcove near the Great Hall. Huh. What was he doing there?

Not hesitating, she rushed to the Great Hall, footsteps pounding, ghosts yelling after her, "No running the halls, young lady!" But Rose didn't care. This was her moment to discover the truth, to understand Scorpius. To confront.

As she reached the alcove, Rose began to hear strange sounds. Moaning. Whispers. "Scorpius," a girl's voice repeated again and again, breathlessly. Rose felt her stomach drop as she turned the corner.

Standing there were two figures. One was Scorpius, his pale blond hair immediately recognizable. Another was a girl, one with fair skin and gorgeous dark brown hair that seemed to gleam despite the dim lighting. The figures seemed stuck together, their lips molding together furiously. The girl was shirtless, displaying her pale pink bra to anyone who could walk in. She muttered the name again. "Scorpius," she said, and suddenly Rose froze.

"Emmeline?" She gasped, before she could stop herself.

"Rose!" Emmeline gasped, pulling apart from Scorpius. Her face a bright red, she quickly found her shirt on the ground and began to button up, all as Rose simply stood there.

At the sound of Rose's name, Scorpius immediately turned. His eyes wide, filled with unmistakable guilt, he began quickly, "Rose, this isn't-"

"It's fine," Rose said softly, her voice seeming all too loud in the suddenly silent atmosphere. Her eyes turned to Emmeline's, suddenly teasing. "I know you hate me, but you might want to keep your shirt on for the rest of your make-out sessions. You never know who might walk in on them, Finnigan."

Emmeline's mouth opened and closed, no sound coming out.

"I suggest you leave, Finnigan. I have to speak to Scorpius about Head Duties, and I'm afraid you're not apart of them," continued Rose, her teasing tone dropping and eyes turning cold. The two looked at each other, sharing an indecipherable look, before Emmeline nodded meekly and began to walk speedily down the corridor.

As soon as her footsteps faded away, Rose turned to Scorpius. Muttering a quick Muffliato, she began, "I'd like to talk to you about what you said on the night of the ball."

His gorgeous gray eyes widened as he took a step back into the wall. "Rose, I-" he started, her name falling perfectly from his worn-out, fully kissed lips.

Rose expected to feel this burning inside of her. She expected fury, anger, hate. Her ex-best friend has just kissed her crush! But now, after everything, she was only numb. Empty. Nothing mattered. Nobody mattered. All was gone.

In a dead, emotionless tone, she spoke. "Is it true you lov-liked me in fifth year?"

Voice shaking, he responded with a "Y-yes."

"That's all I needed to know," she whispered, attempting to turn away. But she felt frozen, as if she could not move, pierced suddenly by his intense gaze.

"Rose," he said, his voice husky and natural and beautiful in that way she always liked "Rose, stop."

But she wasn't going anywhere. Couldn't he see that? She wasn't going anywhere, she never was. She couldn't.

He came closer than ever before it, his hands reaching down to cup her cheeks. Her eyes looked at him, wide and confused. What was he doing? Is he doing what she thought he was doing? Why would he do that? What-

And suddenly all thoughts were cut off with lips. His lips. Kissing hers, telling her all the things he couldn't seem to say. Holding her in his embrace, giving her the warmth and the passion he couldn't express. The numbness inside of her seemed to fade away, replaced by burning passion. She couldn't stop, she wouldn't stop. Responding, she grabbed his collar and brought him even closer, his scent filling up her entire body.

Suddenly, a whiff of Emmeline's perfume reached her nose and she let go. Breathless, Rose gasped, shaking her head. This was wrong. This was bloody wrong. Wrong, wrong, _wrong._

"Scorpius, no," she panted, breathless from the kiss. "You don't like me. You like Emmeline. Remember, the girl you were snogging and probably about to shag if I didn't walk in? Go. Go to her. She likes you. I hate her, but she likes you. She fucked you up, she ruined your life with Grazie, but she likes you. She's a horrible person, but she likes you. She likes you. She likes you. Goddammit, she likes you! Why can't you just fucking like her back?"

"Rose-"

But Rose was no longer talking about Emmeline.

"She likes you, and she doesn't know how or why, but all she knows is that everytime she's around you she goes bloody insane, and all she wants to do is kiss you forever, until the both of you are breathless. All she wants is you, but you won't notice a bloody thing, and by the time you do, you go fucking ruin it with a confession that ruins her! She likes you, she likes you, she likes you, and she doesn't know if you like her because all you send is mixed signals. You just fuck it up, and she doesn't know what to do. She likes you. She likes you. And she's pretty goddam close to loving you."

With that, Rose turned on her heel and walked away. Ignoring Scorpius's yells for her to come back, that this conversation wasn't bloody over, but Rose knew that it was over far before it ever started.

* * *

**Fear not. The 'epilogue' is here.**

* * *

"Rose," Hermione knocked on the door yet again. She didn't want to try to unlock the spells, she wanted Rose to let her in willingly. Hermione understood the feeling of wanting to be left alone.

But this had gone on too long. It was the week after graduation. As soon as Rose came home, she locked herself up in her room and refused to come out. Hermione's mother instinct told her that this wasn't a temporary thing.

It was Scorpius Malfoy. He had hurt her baby, her reckless, annoying, yet absolutely lovable daughter. He had taken her heart, and refused to give it back, leaving Rose stranded, confused, and utterly empty.

Hermione had gotten most of the story from Lily, Hugo, and Albus. Apparently, Rose had liked Scorpius but he had dated Emmeline Finnigan instead. (Oh, what Hermione would do to that girl if she ever got her hands on her.) Albus wasn't even sure if Scorpius liked Emmaline, but they had been officially dating since December and Rose was utterly devastated. Lily told Hermione that even though she says she's fine, Lily doesn't think she is because she seemed still hung up over Scorpius, all the way until graduation.

Bah. _Malfoy men._

Hermione's eyes grew wistful at the thought of her time with Draco Malfoy. Then, as she remembered the aftermath of _that_ relationship, she straightened her back, a newfound determination coming over her. Hermione Granger would _not_ let her daughter lose this fight.

With sudden power, her wand zipped through the air in intricate designs and simple slashes as she put down the many locking charms Rose had put up. Throwing open the door, she yelled, "Young lady, you are to get off that pathetic floor and set your ass down on the bed! I'm telling a story!"

Her daughter looked up, utterly shocked. Like Hermione had presumed, she was kneeled against the wall, curled on the dark brown, dusty wood. At her appearance, Hermione had to hold back a gasp. Rose was a mess.

Rose's hair was tangled and knotted, reeking of dirt and caked with dandruff. Her eyes were sunken, with dark, heavy bags. She looked exhausted, tear tracks covering her usually fair face, and the clothes she wore seemed soiled and reeked of body odor.

"M-mum?" she croaked, her voice hoarse but still shocked.

"Correct, I am your mother. And as your mother, I demand you do as I've asked. Sit down on the bed. Now," Hermione snapped, hands on her hips. She didn't mean to sound pushy, but she couldn't help it! Her daughter was being ridiculous.

Rose hesitantly sat on the bed, her eyebrows raised slightly from her mother's suddenly stern tone. "You wanted to tell me a story?" she asked again, her voice improving slightly as she spoke.

Hermione sighed as she sat cross-legged across from her daughter. "I was once in a situation like yours, Rose. It was seventh year, I was Head Girl and my first love was the Head Boy."

Rose flinched at the word 'love', as if she was stabbed. Recovering quickly, she tilted her head slightly. "You mean dad?"

Hermione laughed. Oh, she wished. Things would've been much easier if it was just Ron.

"No, sweetie. It was Draco Malfoy."

At this, Rose's mouth dropped open. "You...you mean, Malfoy-you-Merlin," she stuttered.

Hermione smiled. Her tone was bittersweet as she said, "Yes, Malfoy. Like mother, like daughter, am I right?"

Rose chuckled slightly at this, her laugh also a bit bitter. "So... how?"

"At first, we hated each other. But I was hurting from the war, and so was he. Harry had gone into depression following the war. Ron? Oh, Merlin. He'd gone mental. Literally."

"I remember feeling so alone without my best friends. Nobody really came back for that last year. Everybody was hurting, recovering, fixing themselves up. I wasn't. I was broken, so broken, but I thought Hogwarts would remind me of the good things. Of why I shouldn't just forget magic and become Muggle once again. My parents were lost in Australia, not even knowing they had a daughter. The Weasleys were mourning, and all my friends were staying close to their families, just trying to repair themselves by being around the ones they loved."

At this, Hermione's voice cracked. Seventh year had been perhaps the lowest point of her life. She felt so alone. So lost. So... numb.

"Draco's parents were locked away in prison. When we first met, we despised each other, but soon we grew close. Friends, we decided. We only had each other. I depended on him, he depended on me. We _needed _each other. Soon, the friendship became something more."

"Suddenly, I was in love. Draco wasn't my first boyfriend, but he was my first love. The first person to steal my heart. We kept our relationship a secret, but it was still perfect. Nobody else mattered. It was just us, lost in the dream of each other. Nothing could go wrong, nothing could break us apart."

Her eyes lit up as she spoke, remembering their relationship. The kisses and passion shared behind closed doors. The way he was the only one on her mind. He was all he could think about, and she loved it. She loved _him_.

"But then?" pressed Rose gently.

Hermione's expression of delight dropped as she remembered.

"But then graduation was nearing. And we had lived so much in the present, we refused to talk about the future. _Our_ future, and whether it would be together. I think we were afraid, afraid to leave Hogwarts and enter the real world where stolen kisses and sweet nothings couldn't exist. Where we had to get jobs, settle down, become adults. We had to grow up, and Draco and I both knew we couldn't grow up together. As much as we wished it, we couldn't last forever."

"And so on graduation night, instead of celebrating the next stage of our lives, we sat down in our Heads' Tower for the last time and talked. It wasn't a break up, really. It was a departure. He explained to me how he had to take care of the Manor, how he lost a lot of his family's money because of their role in the war. He told me about wanting to start a business of his own. I told him about wanting to take care of Ron. The doctors said that his emotional attachment to me may aid him in curing the disease in his brain. I told him about how I wanted to bring life to the Weasley family and all of our friends. I told him about wanting to bring them all back, the way we brought each other back. We talked, and we understood. We had plans for the future, and they didn't involve each other."

"So we departed, on good terms. We remained acquaintances, having an occasional coffee and catching each other up on our lives. To this day, that's how we've been. Neither Ron nor Harry mind it."

Rose bit her lip, looking a bit nervous. "Mum... I was wondering. Do you-do you still love Mr. Malfoy?"

Hermione knew the underlying question. _Will I always love Scorpius?_

She smiled, gently gathering Rose into her embrace. "No, sweetie. I don't. You can never forget your first love, but you move on. We all do. I love him as a friend, as someone who was there for me in the darkest time of my life. But my heart belongs to Ron. I moved on, and so did he. We both love other people, and we're okay with that. We're happy."

Rose suddenly let out a sob. "B-but what if I-I don't want to move-move on?" she whispered, tears flowing from her eyes endlessly.

Hermione gently wiped them away, her eyes looking at Rose's firmly. "Rose, your situation is nothing like how mine and Draco's was. You have a chance. You can fight for him, and nobody will stop you. Or you can let him go. It's your choice."

For a full five minutes, there was silence. Rose thought, making her choice, and Hermione found herself lost in memory lane.

"Mum?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"I've made my choice."

* * *

Nope, still not over yet. Epilogue: Part TWO

* * *

_July 17, 2029_

_The wedding was in June. Gorgeous green vines embroidered with simple scarlet flowers decorated the entrance. They snaked their ways around the entire venue, only to meet again in an archway where Nicole stood, practically glowing in her cream gown and Gryffindor-colored bouquet. Honey-scented candles lit up the room, giving it a romantic feel that I knew was Lily's idea._

_It was a simple event, only the closest friends and family members invited. But, since Albus and Nicole have always been rather social, the wedding turned out to have a guest list of over two hundred people. I was the first on the list, the best man._

_Well, don't be so surprised. Of course I was the best man! Albus is my best mate after all, even though he was a complete twat in seventh year. But then again, we all were._

_The event was overall pleasant. We all mingled and simply reveled in each other's time. Dad danced with Rose's mum, Hermione. Fred kept joking around with the new couple, asking them how many children they want and other personal things. I heard people saying he was just like his namesake._

_I met Rose at the wedding. She looked absolutely breathtaking in her sleek, form-fitting emerald green gown with a daring neckline. She wore simple silver jewelry, and the minute I saw her, I couldn't help but think how amazing she was in Slytherin colors._

_Of course I expected to see her there, but I didn't think she'd talk to me. We haven't spoken since graduation, when she left looking rather upset. Albus told me again and again about how she was in love with me, and I was too blind to see it. I didn't believe him. But when I looked at her then, I could see it. She looked at me with intense longing, but also defeat, as if she knew I wouldn't have her._

_Did she know I broke up with Emmeline the week after graduation? _

_I didn't think so. We talked, just pleasant chat. No hard feelings. No anger. No jealousy. It was all gone. We were no longer hormonal, overemotional teenagers. We were adults, ready to take on the world._

_I learned she was studying to become a healer at St. Mungo's. She wanted to specialize in mental illnesses._

_I told her about how I was working with young witches and wizards to get them educated at Muggle schools. I wanted people from wizarding families to understand the Muggle world and respect it, instead of looking down upon them. _

_We talked about how glad we were they removed that disgusting sculpture of witches looking down on Muggles in the Ministry._

_It was nice._

_It's been a year since then. I've become closer with her. She's now someone I always confide in. Someone who understands me. Our relationship hasn't turned romantic ever in the past year, but I wish it was._

_I want to tell her that I'm in love with her. That I'm finally returning her feelings._

_Today, I'll ask her on a date. I don't know what'll happen, whether she'll say yes or no. I won't be hurt if she says no. I'll try, I'll keep trying. I'll fight for her, do the fight that I wish she would've done all those years ago._

_Because you never truly forget your first love._

* * *

**Okay, that was the real end.**

**I'm incredibly happy. I actually liked how that ended. Honestly, that satisfies me. What about you?**

**So, I guess this is... goodbye? Okay, not goodbye. More like, the end of this story.**

**(But the end is only the beginning...)**

**Remember, I'm still active! I read all the reviews you guys put on my stories, I get all your PMs. Don't think I am completely gone, because I'm not! If you have questions about this story, my writing, or just anything in general, ask me! I'm always here to answer, even if I don't have enough time to write chapters.**


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